Reckless Driver Gets 45 Days In Jail

Wed., July 28, 1999

By Tom Sowa toms@spokesman.com (509) 459-5492

A Spokane driver involved in a high-speed wreck that killed a woman last summer was sentenced Tuesday to 45 days in jail.

Daniel Laird, 37, will also lose his driver’s license for 30 days after pleading guilty to reckless driving.

Sharon K. Walkling, 46, died July 17, 1998, after being thrown through the windshield of her pickup. Police said she was northbound on U.S. Highway 195 when she turned in front of Laird, who was heading south.

Prosecutors initially charged Laird with vehicular homicide. If convicted under that charge, he would have faced about two years in prison.

But Deputy Prosecutor Dianne Dougherty agreed to reduce the charge to reckless driving because Walkling was intoxicated at the time of the wreck.

Walkling’s family didn’t agree with the decision.

“But they eventually understood that we had very significant problems in this case because of the alcohol content,” Dougherty said.

Walkling had a blood-alcohol level of 0.20 percent, or twice the legal limit. She was not wearing a seat belt, authorities said.

Laird wasn’t drunk, but police estimated his 1997 Buick Skylark was traveling 90 mph when it struck Walkling’s Nissan pickup. Laird has three prior speeding tickets on his record.

On Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Michael Donohue ordered Laird to serve his sentence at Geiger Work Release Center. He can cut the 45-day term to 30 with credit for good behavior.

The defendant must spend another 15 days on electronic home-monitoring and pay $8,000 restitution, primarily for funeral costs.

Laird, who works for a yard and garden service, apologized to Walkling’s relatives in the courtroom during the sentencing hearing.

“This is a tragic event for everyone involved,” defense attorney Carl Oreskovich said later.

If the case had gone to trial, Oreskovich said he would have called witnesses who would say Laird was driving less than 65 mph.

Oreskovich would have argued that Walkling was “the sole cause” of the wreck.

This sidebar appeared with the story: Sentence On Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Michael Donohue ordered Daniel Laird to serve his sentence at Geiger Work Release Center. Laird can cut the 45-day term to 30 with credit for good behavior.

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