Police: Man admits hit-and-run in downtown Spokane that killed 78-year-old woman

A 42-year-old man accused of hitting and killing 78-year-old Janet Mann with his truck told police he fled the scene of the accident in downtown Spokane out of fear and hid the truck in his garage, court documents show.

Police arrested Gary F. Burns on Wednesday on suspicion of hit-and-run resulting in death in front of his Spokane Valley home.

Burns made his first appearance in Spokane County Superior Court on Thursday, wearing the bright green Spokane County Department of Corrections uniform, where he wiped tears from his eyes before Superior Court Commissioner Eugene Cruz set his bail at $100,000.

Prosecutors requested the six-figure bail because Burns was a “flight risk,” taking into account the seriousness of the case and the steps Burns had taken to hide evidence and flee from police.

Cruz said he was concerned about public safety and Burns’ ability to interfere with the “judicial system.”

According to the documents, Spokane Police and Fire Department responded to the suspected hit-and-run crash at the corner of Browne Street and Main Avenue at approximately 12:50 p.m. on June 11.

Witness testimony and video surveillance showed that a gray 2007 Chevrolet Silverado struck and ran over Mann before leaving the scene, documents say. Mann died of her injuries at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Mann co-authored a book in 2017 and is the former director of Children’s Ark, a foster parenting program that ran until 2009. Mann and her husband, Paul Mann, were two of the principal owners who revitalized the Ridpath Club Apartments downtown.

According to court documents, video surveillance from the Spokane Transit Authority captured part of the Silverado’s license plate at the corner of Main Avenue and Bernard Street, about a block before the crash.

The partial license plate indicated two possible trucks registered in Spokane, and one of the vehicles matched Burns’ truck. A check of the license plate revealed the registered owner was Burns, who lives at 515 N. Best Road in Spokane Valley.

Surveillance showed a male driver matching Burns’ physical description wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and having a mustache and beard. In social media photos of Burns, he was seen wearing a white short-sleeved shirt with a beard and mustache, police said in documents.

A traffic camera captured the Silverado and the driver wearing a white short-sleeved shirt the day before the crash. The driver’s “physique” was similar to Burns’ physical description, documents say.

On June 13, police officers observed Burns driving his other vehicle, a Hyundai Santa Fe, with his wife as a passenger.

According to the documents, police monitored Burns that day as he drove to and from his Spokane Valley home in Santa Fe. Officers attached a tracking device to the Santa Fe.

Police searched the house on Wednesday and found Burns and the Silverado, which had driven into the garage.

Burns was detained at the apartment and taken to the Spokane Police Department building for questioning.

According to court documents, Burns admitted to being the driver and sole occupant of the Silverado at the time of the crash. He said he did not see Mann before the crash and did not intend to hit her.

He told police that he immediately drove to his residence and hid the truck in his garage.

Burns, who was still in jail Thursday night, declined an interview with the Spokesman-Review.

He is scheduled to be arraigned before Supreme Court Justice Timothy Fennessy on July 2.