Trial Under Way In Fatal Car Crash Man Accused Of Being Drunk When He Hit Bus, Killing Woman

No one denies that David Jones was behind the wheel when his pickup slammed into a bus in the Spokane Valley, killing his long-time girlfriend.

And no one denies that Jones ran away from the scene, leaving 36-year-old Shelley Thompson to die in the wreckage.

At issue in Jones’ criminal trial, which began Tuesday in Spokane County Superior Court, is whether the 41-year-old man got drunk before or after the Jan. 15 wreck.

Jones is charged with vehicular homicide and felony hit-and-run. He has been in jail since the day after the accident.

He appeared in court Tuesday wearing tan pants and a red-and-white flannel shirt. His long dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

Authorities contend Jones was drunk when he drove into the back of a Spokane Transit Authority bus stopped near Barker and Euclid, and fled because he didn’t want to get into trouble.

He was wanted on a drunken driving charge from Idaho at the time.

“The theme of this case is irresponsibility,” Deputy Prosecutor Dianne Dougherty told the eight-woman, four-man jury in her opening statement.

Jones and Thompson spent four hours before the 5 p.m. collision drinking and playing pool at the Bayou Tavern near Trent and Barker, Dougherty said.

Dougherty plans to call several law enforcement officers who will testify that Jones was intoxicated when he was arrested back at the tavern nearly two hours after the wreck.

Defense attorney Tracy Collins told the jury that the crash was a tragic accident but not a crime.

Jones and Thompson had some beers before the wreck but not enough for his client to become intoxicated, Collins said.

The collision occurred because the couple was arguing about a woman who flirted with Jones at the tavern, Collins said.

“They were bickering back and forth,” he said. “What happened essentially is that Dave looked up and a bus is there.”

Jones, a former concrete worker who retired on disability several years ago, was injured in the crash and wandered away from the scene in shock and grief, Collins said.

In his confusion, he sat in a nearby field and sipped whiskey from a flask while trying to decide what to do, the lawyer said.

“After somewhat regaining his senses” two hours later, he walked back to the Bayou Tavern and called authorities, Collins said.

The trial before Judge Neal Q. Rielly is expected to last a week.

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