Hit-and-run suspect ‘knew there was human skin on her vehicle,’ court records say

The suspect in a hit-and-run crash that severed a motorcyclist’s leg told an acquaintance that “she knew there was human skin on her vehicle,” according to court documents filed this week.

Leslie A. Hester, 33, was arrested Friday in connection with the April 23 crash at 11th Avenue and Southeast Boulevard in Spokane. She appeared in court Monday afternoon. She has been released on her own recognizance.

The collision tore the left leg off Daniel “Dutch” Inwood, who was left bleeding out in the street beside his recently purchased Harley-Davidson. Local dentist Dr. James Shelby came upon the scene shortly afterward and bound the leg with a tourniquet of two belts, an action that Inwood says saved his life.

Police identified Hester based on a cracked taillight found at the scene of the crash. Court documents say they received a tip that Hester was seen replacing the taillight of her 2001 GMC Yukon in front of a house on East 14th Avenue, where she had been renting a room.

When an officer arrived there and began inspecting the SUV, Hester came outside and initially lied that it had been damaged in a Wal-Mart parking lot a few weeks prior, according to court documents.

But during a later interview in a detective’s office, “She apologized for not telling the truth,” court documents say. “She talked about the difficulties in her life such as not being able to see her infant daughter, relapsing into methamphetamine use, and not taking her medications for her bipolar disorder.”

Hester, who does not have a driver’s license, admitted she was driving at the time of the crash, according to court documents. She told officers there were two other people in the SUV, a woman named “Heather” and a man named “Twin.”

Hester said she was distraught because Twin was physically abusing both women and “at one point grabbed Hester around her neck while she was driving,” court documents say.

“She knew that she was involved in a collision,” documents say. “She looked behind her and saw sparks. She did not call police because she was so scared.”