SPOKANE, Wash. – The man accused of vehicular homicide following a crash in Spokane’s Logan neighborhood was released on his own recognizance on Tuesday.
On Feb. 3, around 7 p.m., 35-year-old Mindy Wilson died after she was hit by two cars on North Morton Street and East Empire Avenue. According to court documents, Wilson was a substitute teacher at the Central Valley School District.
Gary Thompson, 70, was arrested on charges of vehicular homicide after police suspected he was impaired.
According to court documents, Thompson told police he was driving west on Empire Avenue when he looked down to adjust his radio and heard that he hit something. He looked up and saw the woman rolling through the intersection. The woman was pushed into westbound traffic, where she was struck again.
A DUI Drug and Recognition expert said he did not see any signs of evasive maneuvers or breaking. Court documents said officers noticed the smell of alcohol coming from Thompson’s breath and clothes, adding his eyes were watery, glassy and slow to respond to light.
Thompson admitted to officers that he consumed two pitchers of beer with a group of family around 2:00 p.m. Court documents said Thompson was struggling to follow directions, recall information, continued to repeat information and was slurring his speech.
At Deaconess Hospital, police requested a search warrant for Thompson’s blood. The results of the test are pending.
Thompson was released on his own recognizance and appeared in court on Feb. 6. If found guilty, the State Attorney said he could spend at least six and half years in prison. The attorney believes Thompson’s age makes him a flight risk and asks him to be kept in jail on a $100,000 bond.
Thompson’s lawyers asked the judge to keep him out of jail, arguing it was a case of bad vision, not a DUI. They said he has no prior criminal history, and police only noted a “slight odor of alcohol.”
The court ordered an interlock ignition device to be installed in any vehicle Thompson may drive. He must also stay in Spokane County, regularly contact his attorney and is not allowed to contact any family members of Wilson.
His arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 21 at 11 a.m.
