Driver Arrested for DUI and Hit-and-Run: Unattended Vehicle

Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a reported Hit-and-Run: Unattended Vehicle and a possible impaired driver.  Deputies located the suspect/vehicle and conducted a traffic stop as she left a drive-thru in the 400 block of E. Hastings Road.  Through the subsequent investigation, the adult female driver was arrested for DUI and Hit-and-Run: Unattended Vehicle.  Breath samples showed her BAC at .309/.308, well over the legal limit of .08.    

On July 13, 2024, at approximately 7:40 pm, a caller reported that a female, identified as 34-year-old Galina P. Lapik, was driving a red Scion and appeared to be intoxicated.  The caller said Lapik hit an unattended vehicle at a residence in the 11100 block of N. Waikiki Road and drove away.  

Deputies began searching the area and checking possible locations for the red Scion.  They eventually located it in the drive-thru of a business in the 400 block of E. Hastings Road.  As the vehicle left the drive-thru, it drove over the curb and swiped a large shrub with the driver’s side.  

Deputies conducted a traffic stop and contacted the driver, identified as Lapik, and immediately noticed indicators of impairment.  They also observed what appeared to be damage to the Scion, consistent with the reported hit-and-run.    

Throughout the subsequent investigation, Deputies developed probable cause to arrest Lapik for DUI and Hit-and-Run: Unattended Vehicle.   During a search after her arrest, Deputies located three full shot-sized bottles of vodka on Lapik.  They also learned Lapik had a prior DUI conviction in 2019.  Breath samples later showed readings indicating Lapik’s BAC was .309/.308.

Lapik was transported and booked into the Spokane County Jail for DUI and Hit-and-Run: Unattended Vehicle.  On July 14, 2024, during the weekend’s probable cause review, Spokane County District Court Judge A. Biviano ordered Lapik to be released on her own recognizance.     

This Spokane County Sheriff Office news article "Driver Arrested for DUI and Hit-and-Run: Unattended Vehicle" was originally found on https://www.spokanecounty.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?CID=7