August 5, 2011 in News, City

Suspect identified in crash that killed bicyclist

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A suspect has been identified in a June hit-and-run crash that led to a 66-year-old Spokane man’s death.

Spokane police today seized a 1996 Nissan Sentra that they believe 18-year-old Megan C. Skillingstad was driving when she struck Dennis Widener on June 23. Widener died of his injuries two weeks later.

Cpl. Brad Hallock said Skillingstad, who has not been arrested and has no criminal history, faces a charge of failure to leave information at the scene of a collision resulting in death.

To be charged with vehicular homicide, police must believe a suspect was impaired, driving recklessly or with a disregard for safety, and Hallock said there’s no evidence of that.

Skillingstad “may have been on her way to work” when she was driving north on North Division Street at 4:38 a.m. and struck Widener, who was riding his bike on East Empire Avenue, Hallock said.

An acquaintance of Skillingstad tipped police to her involvement on Thursday, Hallock said.

Hallock and another detective went to Skillingstad’s family’s home in northwest Spokane on Friday and saw the suspect vehicle out front.

The car’s color is similar to a paint chip removed from Widener’s bicycle, and damage to the left side of the front bumper was consistent with the collision, according to a search warrant. Hallock said the suspect’s father, Steve Skillingstad, answered the door and nodded when Hallock said, “You know why I’m here.”

Hallock told Megan Skillingstad that he thought she left the scene of the crash because she was scared. The suspect “began crying and nodded her head,” according to the warrant.

Hallock said the Skillingstads have hired Spokane lawyer Carl Oreskovich, who was unavailable for comment late Friday afternoon.

Skillingstad was a star softball catcher at Shadle Park High School and is to play for Spokane Community College next year.

Hallock said a tip from the acquaintance was instrumental in identifying Skillingstad.

“I’m not saying it never would have been solved, but it certainly would have been much more difficult without the assistance of a concerned citizen,” Hallock said.

The tipster told police she tried to persuade Skillinstad to turn herself in several times and to tell her parents, but Skillingstad refused, “saying she was too scared to tell them.” She said Skillingstad said just after the collision that she didn’t believe she’d killed the bicyclist. When she later learned he’d died, she “immediately began to cry and became very upset,” the tipster told police.

Widener, a former Army paratrooper, told The Spokesman-Review a week before he died that he was riding his bicycle early in the morning to avoid traffic. Diagnosed with emphysema, Widener said he was exercising at the recommendation of his doctor. He was carrying a portable oxygen unit and was wearing a helmet.

“I looked both ways. I am always careful,” Widener said, according to a previous report. He said he saw the car at the last second. Pedestrians at a nearby parking lot ran to his aid.

He was initially expected to survive his injuries, which included several broken ribs, but a blood clot traveled to his lungs from deep within his body and killed him July 6.

Failure to leave information at the scene of a collision resulting in death is a class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, but Hallock said a defendant with no criminal history likely faces far less time.

Skillingstad likely will be summoned to court once prosecutors formally charge her, Hallock said.

16 comments on this story so far. Add yours!

• 

  oneanddone on August 05 at 6:46 p.m.

  Oh, what a tangled web we weave …
  No excuses Megan, you knew what you did. Far too many slime like you.

• 

  Ed Byrnes on August 05 at 6:54 p.m.

  At first glance this appears to be a light charge for what this woman did. I would appreciate some reporting from the SR on the rationale for this charge, maybe it’s not vehicular homicide though it appears to be manslaughter. If her father knew why the police were there, as it appears from this story, what about his culpability as an accomplice? After all, a person died.

• 

  misjustice on August 05 at 7:02 p.m.

  This young woman exercised extremely poor judgment and a person died as a result of her actions; she should face the maximum punishment permitted by law.

  So, she lawyered up; hiring the same attorney that is defending Karl Thompson.

• 

  MrBloggy on August 05 at 7:43 p.m.

  curious if family has relatives on the force

• 

  Ed Byrnes on August 05 at 8:32 p.m.

  Mis J thanks for sharing the Karl Thompson attorney connection.

  I share Mr. Bs curiosity though I am hesitant to speculate on the case, though initially I thought it was possibly white-middle class-athlete kind of stuff.

  Meghann, it seems that something is up here so please go after this story, your past work demonstrates you can get to the bottom of this story.

  Ed

• 

  Ed Byrnes on August 05 at 8:35 p.m.

  OK I just can’t resist a little bit of snarkiness: is Carl Oreskovich the attorney of choice for those who don’t believe they should be consistently honest?

• 

  AnalyzeThat on August 05 at 9:32 p.m.

  This is a sad situation for both parties involved and shows once again how a moment of poor judgement can change your life forever.

• 

  misjustice on August 05 at 9:53 p.m.

  White-middle class athlete stuff to be sure; and her sister is a notable athlete, she’s a pitcher for the Oregon Ducks in her senior year.

  Carl will ensure that the kid never serves a day of jail. It’s gonna really cost the family to ante up the retainer fee though, oh, and the billable hours are gonna be substantial.

  If the young woman only would have called 9-1-1 on her cell phone and stayed at the scene she would not be in trouble. I’m certain that it was accident. What made it criminal was fleeing, not rendering assistance (ie a simple phone call), and continuing to hide her role in the victim’s injuries.

  So the young woman gets a fancy schmancy attorney which will defend her, and the victim’s family gets horrendous hospital bills and the loss of their loved one. Hmmmm, doesn’t seem all that fair to me.

  Hopefully the victim’s family can at least pursue a civil case against the young woman and her insurance company now that they know who killed their loved one; and perhaps have the medical bills paid, at least.

• 

  Ed Byrnes on August 05 at 11:27 p.m.

  Agreed on the civil litigation MisJ, it appears that the preponderance evidentiary standard will be a slam dunk.

  I don’t see how defense counsel can create reasonable doubt in this case. All it would take is moderately diligent prosecution by Steve Tuckers office…OK now I see how this will all go down ;)

  Ed

• 

  InPrayer on August 05 at 11:43 p.m.

  The young girl involved had just graduated high school a very good young lady (my own daughter went to school w/ and played sports w/ her) who I’m sure was very frightened and I believe she most likely went into a state of shock or disbelief. When something tragic happens and you are that young your reactions will not be that of a mature adult. I saw an interview on another news station of the wife of the man who was injured and eventually died two weeks later from a blood clot. She stated he was a very good man and her hope would be that this young woman would go on to live life as a very good person doing all she can do to be the best she can and that she hoped one day that the young girl would go to church with her. We as a community need to support the woman who lost her husband by first of all honoring his memory and coming to her aid in prayer and other support as needed and also to honor her wishes which would be not to take revenge but to offer love and grace to a young girl who reacted in fear and perhaps even a bit of shock trying to exist and be “normal” the best that she could while trying to come to terms with what happened and figure out what to do. As a community the best thing we can do is love and pray for both families and rather than crush a young girl who made a terrible mistake, perhaps pick her up and help her to do better and to be all God intended for her to be. I would like personally to extend my thanks to the wife of the gentleman who was injured and eventually passed away. You are a woman of grace and obviously a woman of God. A shining example of love in action. May God bless you and meet your every need and may he surround you and this young woman with his peace, his presence , his mercy and his provision

• 

  misjustice on August 06 at 6:43 a.m.

  No one wants to “crush” this young ADULT. She made a mistake, one that is considered by our society to be criminal and punishable. She now needs to face the legal system as an ADULT.

  Don’t worry, her high priced lawyer will get her off. And she can go on to play ball at community college and live her life; and marry, and have children, and do all the things she planned for her life. And if she tries real hard she can convince herself that she did nothing wrong, why, she’s the REAL victim here….

• 

  brianrbreen on August 06 at 10:15 a.m.

  @misjustice,

  I agree that it is important that this young women face the consequences of having made a horrific mistake. I also feel it is important to understand that from this point forward how she personally deals with that mistake will determine the quality of the rest of her life as well as the lives of those she touches from now on. This is one of those cases where the black, white, and gray of the criminal justice system can have a real influence on the direction she takes. Every individual involved in that system from the cop to the defense attorney has a role with the ultimate goal being the pursuit of justice whatever it might be.

  I do not know how old she was when this took place but I do understand your inference that she should be dealt with as an adult. Let me offer this, many years ago I arrested four juveniles for murder, they pulled a purse snatch robbery at the north town mall the elderly victim fell to the ground hit her head and died. They did not have any priors, and all were honest and open with me as well as being very remorseful. Three of the four sets of parents though very concerned and upset understood that what their children had done would effect them for the rest of their lives and cooperated to every extent they could while at the same time protecting the kid they loved. The fourth parent who happened to be a Sheriff’s Sergeant confronted me with all kinds of claims that I had violated his kid’s constitutional rights, among other things, and was unwilling to except the fact that what his son had done was murder. He blamed the criminal justice system and me even though he was involved in it. Much to the consternation of the prosecutor at the time (Now one of the most respected defense attorneys in town), and others, I testified during the hearing to move the cases to adult court that in my opinion the case should remain in the juvenile system. I am glad I did, the kids spent their time in the juvenile corrections system came out adults and three of the four turned out to be good strong members of the community. Might point is this; no one can undo what has been done. We do not know today what will happen tomorrow we can only hope, and for the parents to retain Carl Oreskovich was a smart move he is one of the best and will look after the young girls interests not only from a legal standpoint but also from an emotional standpoint that is his job.

  @ebyrnes

  I cannot for the life of me understand what difference it would make that Carl Oreskovich is defending Karl Thompson and this young woman. Carl is not only a good defense attorney; he is also a good person. Some day maybe I will tell you the story of the biggest case he ever defended and how it launched his career as one of Spokane’s most noted defenders. Although I cannot speak for him, it would not surprise me that he is on the same page with both you and misjustice in many areas.

  Ed,
  BTW, I broke my foot so I’m bored as hell and I guess it shows.

• 

  Rogstatus on August 07 at 9:37 p.m.

  You have no right to say that she thinks she did nothing wrong. You dont know this girl and she feels absolutely terrible. She is the most genuine person and she wouldnt purposely hurt a fly. I know she made a very wrong decision but to go and say she will go on with life thinking she did nothing wrong is disgusting. You don’t have a clue what she is thinking. And also Anyone in her position would want a good lawyer. So to also take a stab at her lawyer choice is wrong. I have true sympathy for the wife and family of this man, but don’t go on ranting about stuff you don’t truly know about.

• 

  brianrbreen on August 08 at 9:11 a.m.

  @Rogstatus,

  I do not believe your post was directed at me, but you might keep in mind that having compassion for all people is difficult at times for everyone. It is easy to have compassion for those that have lost a loved one; on the other hand, there are those that find it difficult to have any compassion for those that have made such a horrific mistake. My personal hope is that your young friend despite the fact she will have to live with what she has done forever will learn from it and be able to work her way through the rest of her life in a positive way.

• 

  Rogstatus on August 08 at 3:40 p.m.

  No that wasnt directed to you. Sorry

• 

  Ed Byrnes on August 09 at 5:41 p.m.

  Brian,

  Thank you for taking the time to informatively call me on my misinformed comment. I also appreciate that you acted in the juvenile purse snatching case in the interest of justice and society. When I was working in the juvenile system in Utah I thought the worst possible thing was when our legislature enacted automatic waivers to the adult system for juvenile offenders, which would have made your actions in the case you described impossible.

  The thing that gets to me about this case is that everyone is going on about how upstanding this young adult is and, based on on what I have seen first hand in both the adult and juvenile systems, very few people would be rushing to her defense if she was a non-athletic high school dropout, though my sense is that you personally would look to the person inside rather than the external situation.

  So in essence my, albeit loud, call for equal treatment is based on how many less fortunate young adults are treated in our legal system.

  Sorry to learn about your broken foot. I know we both got busy during the spring, you with cases and me with lots of peer reviewing for NIJ and OJJDP (in this economy I accept this work when it’s available to me), which prevented our getting together. My boys are back in school beginning September 6th so I will not have them with me as much during the daytime hours, so hopefully we can have coffee in September.

  Again thank you for shedding light on the topic and for appropriately confronting my errors, and doing so as kindly as you do.

  Ed