06/12/2007

Associated Press

A man has turned himself in to face a vehicular homicide charge in a car wreck that left a man dead for more than a day and a half before his body was found near a rural intersection, the State Patrol said.

Zachary S. Sluder, 27, of Moxee, was booked into the Yakima County jail on Monday after being sought in the death of Ryan W. Holwegner, 30, of Yakima.

Sluder, the driver of a car that overturned early on the morning of Feb. 24 on State Route 24 east of town, told troopers and fire department paramedics he had been by himself, Patrol Sgt. Edward P. McAvoy said. Sluder was treated at a hospital for minor injuries and remained at large after being cited for drunken driving.

On the afternoon of Feb. 25, Holwegner's body was found by friends who knew he had been with Sluder. Holwegner had been thrown about 200 feet from the car, and county Coroner Maurice Q. Rice said an autopsy showed he died on impact of head and internal injuries.

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Information from: Yakima Herald-Republic, http://www.yakima-herald.com