Police: Man suspected of killing pedestrian with car was drinking, smoking

BREMERTON — The man charged with vehicular homicide stemming from a Thursday morning car vs. pedestrian accident is alleged to have been drinking and smoking marijuana prior to the collision, according to court documents.

Edward George Joel Ostrander, 26, was seen in Kitsap Superior Court Thursday on the charge. The name of the victim, who was also a 26-year-old male, according to initial reports, has not yet been released.

At 1:45 a.m. Thursday morning, an officer responded to a report of a single-car collision on National Avenue. The officer pulled in to the Starbucks/Walgreens parking lot and found what would turn out to be Ostrander’s car parked on the west side of Walgreens. The officer noted a “spider-web type crack” in the front windshield of the car and approached the driver.

Ostrander identified himself with a driver’s license and said he had just come from Cookies Clubhouse Bar and Grill and had “hit a raccoon.” When asked how many drinks he had, Ostrander replied “two.” The officer reported seeing “a glass jar with a lid. Inside the jar appeared to be marijuana.” The officer also found a large smoking bong in the front seat, according to the certificate of probable cause.

Additional officers responding to the scene searched National Ave. and found a deceased male lying on the side of the road. It was noted that Ostrander’s car had significantly more damage than first observed by officers, including “extensive front end damage, including the front windshield,” which was consistent with a collision with the pedestrian.

“Ostrander admitted to driving the car, striking a raccoon, yet the damage to the car is not consistent with colliding with a raccoon, rather a human being,” an investigator wrote.

Officers processing the scene determined the pedestrian was walking in the shoulder of the roadway on National Ave.

Ostrander provided a breath sample and it registered at .173, more than twice the legal limit, according to the court documents. An investigator completed “a rough speed calculation” and determined his vehicle was going approximately 53-57 miles per hour as he attempted to stop. With this information in hand, Ostrander was arrested for vehicular homicide.