Hit-Run Death Gets Man 4 Years Spokane Valley Driver Left His Girlfriend To Die In Pickup After Smashing Into Bus

A Spokane Valley man who killed his girlfriend by crashing his pickup into the back of a bus was sentenced to four years in prison Tuesday.

David Jones, convicted in June of vehicular homicide and felony hit-and-run, also drew a rebuke from the judge.

Given a chance to express remorse before being sentenced, Jones told Superior Court Judge Neal Rielly he is as much a victim as his girlfriend, Shelley Thompson.

Taking only partial responsibility for the crimes, Jones blamed Thompson’s alcoholism for contributing to the crash.

Rielly blasted Jones for failing to accept his own long-standing drinking. Then the judge ordered the defendant to serve the high end of the sentencing range for the crimes.

Jones, 41, is a former concrete worker who has been disabled since an injury several years ago.

Thompson, a 36-year-old housekeeper, died shortly after the Jan. 15 crash in the Valley.

According to Jones, he and Thompson had a few beers at a nearby tavern, then got into the truck to go home.

They had an argument on the way, he said. Traveling at at least 20 mph, the truck slammed into the back of a parked Spokane Transit Authority bus at the intersection of Trent and Euclid.

Arrested at a tavern two hours after the 6 p.m. accident, police said Jones’ blood-alcohol level exceeded the legal limit.

At his June trial, Jones testified that he wasn’t drunk at the time of the crash.

Dazed and injured, he ran away, leaving his dying girlfriend in the wreckage. He said he drank whiskey from a flask before returning on foot to the Bayou Tavern, where he was arrested.

Jurors could not agree that he was drunk while behind the wheel, convicting Jones of a lesser version of vehicular homicide - driving with disregard for the safety of others.

Deputy Prosecutor Dianne Dougherty argued Tuesday that Jones deserved an exceptional sentence of more than six years in prison.

The prosecutor cited Jones’s past record of drunken driving, including a 1991 conviction in Spokane County and a pending DUI charge in Coeur d’Alene.

As Jones began making his statement blaming Thompson for her role in the crash, Dougherty jumped angrily to her feet.

“This is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen in a courtroom,” she said.

Rielly noted her concern, but refused to interrupt Jones.

Jones has been held in the Spokane County Jail since the accident. He will receive credit for time already served.

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