In the follow-up file ...

There's been some speculation/request for the state Auditor's Office to investigate the Tacoma Police Department's decision to pay some officers to play in a charity basketball game hosted by the Hilltop Action Coalition.

Mindy Chambers, communications director for the agency, said the Auditor's Office does not plan to do a special investigation of the issue.

"Since they caught it and they are in the process of fixing it, that's what we are basing our decision on," Chambers said.

The City of Tacoma is up for its regular, annual audit in November. Chambers said the Auditor's Office will take a look at what the city found and did regarding the basketball game then.

Two people were injured this morning when a vehicle struck a pedestrian and then plowed into a building in Auburn.

An 18-year-old man and a man in his 60s were taken to Auburn Medical Center for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

Meanwhile, the building that was hit has been evacuated until inspectors can determine that it's safe to enter, the Valley Regional Fire Authority reports.

The incident occurred in the 400 block of East Main Street. The 18-year-old man was walking when he was hit by the car.

The vehicle then hit a nearby barbershop. A passenger in the car - the man described as being in his 60s - was injured.

Auburn police were investigating.

Fireworks are legal to buy and set off in the unincorporated parts of Pierce County during the Fourth of July.

Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said the department does not have any special fireworks emphasis enforcement during the holiday. Members of the department's bomb squad who are on duty will respond to fireworks-related complaints.

"If they are needed they will be there," Troyer said.

The rest of the deputies will be working to keep up with the 911 calls. The Fourth of July - especially at night - is one of the busiest - if not the busiest - days of the year.

"It will take everything we have to keep up with 911 calls," Troyer said. "We keep up with them as they can."

The department expects to receive several calls for fights, domestic violence and alcohol-related incidents.

"That stuff will bury our whole entire department," Troyer said.

In the cities of Tacoma and Federal Way, all fireworks are banned.

The Tacoma Police Department has launched fireworks enforcement teams to respond to 911 calls related to fireworks complaints. Read about the police department's enforcement plan here.

The Lakewood Police Department will have extra officers out Friday, Saturday and Sunday. While fireworks are legal to ignite in the city, they often go off outside of the designated hours. People also tend to set off fireworks that are not of the safe and sane variety.

Police Lt. Heidi Hoffman said the extra officers will be on overtime and be dedicated to patrolling for and responding to fireworks complaints.

"Their only mission is to handle fireworks," Hoffman said. "We are concerned (this year) because we haven't had any rain."

In Federal Way, the police department will have dedicated teams of officers and firefighters working and responding to fireworks-related complaints and park enforcement on Saturday. There will be 23 officers working that day. Six will working citywide on fireworks enforcement, while four will be at Steel Lake Park and 13 will be at Celebration Park.

About half of the officers will be on overtime; the remaining officers have be reassigned from their regular duties.

Last year, police officers issued 43 criminal citations and 30 warnings.

Pierce County prosecutors have charged a 31-year-old man in connection with a serious-injury crash Saturday evening in Tacoma.

Ryan M. Bobier was charged with failure to remain at the scene of an injury accident, hit and run and unlawful possession of a controlled substance. The charges could be amended based on test results and medical reports, prosecutors wrote.

Court documents filed Tuesday provide the following information.

Tacoma, University Place and Fircrest police were called to the crash at the intersection of South Jackson Avenue and South 12th Street just after 5:10 p.m. Saturday. Dispatchers reported that citizens were detaining the suspected causing driver after he tried to flee.

When officers arrived, paramedics were removing two women from a car. Both suffered serious injuries and complained of head, neck and back pain. They were taken to a hospital for treatment.

Witnesses told officers Bobier was going south on Jackson Avenue and approaching the light at 12th Street. The women were eastbound on 12th and stopped at the light.

When the light turned green, the women's car moved into the intersection. Bobier broadsided the car.

The impact sent the women's car into a spin. The car struck another vehicle, which had been heading north on Jackson Avenue.

"Witnesses estimated the defendant was at a high rate of speed before the collision," court documents state. "One witness told officers the defendant was traveling 'easily 70 miles per hour' and then qualified it as '70 miles per hour is a low-end guess.'"

One of the witnesses used to work as a paramedic. He went over to Bobier's car and asked if he was OK. Bobier said he was but said he needed to get out of there because he was in "so much trouble," court documents state.

The witness went to check on the women and noticed Bobier climbing out of the T-top of his car. Bobier was seen jogging away.

"Several citizens in a nearby yard chased after the defendant and detained him until officers arrived," court documents state.

Officers smelled intoxicants on Bobier. Bobier admitted he'd been drinking at the Taste of Tacoma four hours earlier. Officers arrested Bobier on suspicion of vehicular assault and took him to Allenmore Hospital for a blood draw. The test results were not yet available.

Bobier's car was towed from the crash scene. An employee of the tow company found baggies of suspected marijuana in the center consol and called police. Officers took the 11.5 grams of marijuana as evidence.

Bobier has a previous conviction for DUI and was charged in early May in Pierce County with DUI.

Downtown Puyallup residents are invited to a meeting tonight with Puyallup police officers.

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at the Puyallup Library's south meeting room.

The neighborhood meeting is for residents who live between Third Street Southeast to Fifth Street Southeast and from East Pioneer to Fourth Avenue Southeast.

Some neighbors requested the meeting. Members of the Puyallup Police Department's Problem Oriented Policing unit and the city's code compliance officer will be at the meeting to talk about issues and answer questions.

A year ago today, the state's hands-free law took effect.

Under the law, drivers talking on cell phones must use a hands free device or face a fine if caught. (Another state law prohibits drivers from text messaging while driving down the road.)

It's a secondary violation in Washington, which means troopers have to spot another traffic violation (speeding, busted taillight, expired tabs, etc.) in order to stop a car. If the driver also has on a cell phone next to his ear, he could be fined for violating the hands free law.

From July 1, 2008 through Tuesday, Washington State Patrol troopers contacted 4,939 drivers who were driving with a cellphone to their ear, the agency reported. Of those, 1,659 drivers received the $124 ticket for violating the hands free law.

The other 3,280 drivers received a warning and were instructed to obey the state law.

UPDATE: Here's some more stats from the Washington State Patrol ...

Troopers contacted 577 drivers for texting while driving. Of those, 221 received tickets and 356 were issued warnings.

It appears the number of collisions where "driver operating handheld telecommunication device" was a contributing factor has dropped.

In 2008, the State Patrol noted 827 collisions where "driver operating handheld telecommunication device" was a contributing factor. That's down from 1,118 in 2007 and 1,246 in 2006.

But just because some drivers are hands free doesn't mean they are crash free.

In 2008, there were 71 crashes where "driver operating hands-free wireless telecommunication device" was listed as a contributing factor. That's about the same as 2007 (when 72 such crashes were logged) and up from 2006, when there were 62 crashes where "driver operating handheld telecommunication device" was a contributing factor.

"The message here is talking on a cell phone contributes to collisions," the State Patrol reports. "Even though the law states you can use a hand-free device it is still distracting to talk on a cell phone. When you are driving, you should be driving. Talking on a cell phone or any other internal or external distraction slows down your perception and reaction time which can make the difference between avoiding a collision or being involved in a collision."

The governor has directed the flags at all state agency buildings to be lowered to half-staff today in honor of a Steilacoom soldier who was killed in Afghanistan.

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Brian N. Bradshaw, 24, was killed June 25 when an improvised explosive device detonated.

Gov. Chris Gregoire ordered flags to be lowered until the close of business today or first thing Thursday morning.