Deathbed Mercy Eases Sentencing Hit-And-Run Driver Avoids Jail Sentence As His Victim Wished Before Her Death

Geraldine Kirkendall didn’t believe in getting even.

That is why Brian K. Wake was sentenced to four months of community service after pleading guilty to felony hit and run in her death last year.

Following Monday’s sentencing in Spokane County Superior Court, Wake and his parents shook hands and embraced some members of Kirkendall’s family.

The 19-year-old Wake apologized profusely in court and later in an encounter in the hallway outside the courtroom of Superior Court Judge Greg Sypolt.

“Don’t let this ruin the rest of your life,” Jim Lee told Wake.

Lee, the victim’s brother, said it was Kirkendall’s wish that Wake not be incarcerated. Wake could have received a maximum sentence of five years in jail and a $10,000 fine.

Instead, he will do community service at a burn unit or in a hospital emergency room.

Sypolt said he seldom had seen such a display of support and forgiveness expressed by a victim’s family toward someone who had played a part in the death of a loved one.

“She was a very religious person; she was very forgiving,” Lee said.

Deputy Prosecutor Dianne Dougherty said the prosecutor’s office believes community service is an appropriate sentence.

Wake’s pickup rear-ended Kirkendall’s car Sept. 1 on U.S. Highway 2 near the main entrance to Fairchild Air Force Base.

A westbound school bus had slowed to drop off children near the base entrance. Kirkendall decreased her speed; Wake didn’t.

The impact caused Kirkendall’s car to burst into flames and slide into the bus. The Washington State Patrol estimated Wake’s speed at 46 mph to 58 mph.

Kirkendall suffered severe burns over 90 percent of her body. She was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where she died Nov. 22.

After the accident, Wake drove off before being spotted 2-1/2 hours later a few miles away.

“He has absolutely no record,” said Dave Hearrean, Wake’s attorney. “Brian absolutely panicked. He was contemplating suicide after the accident.”

Wake’s mother, Katherine Wake, burst into tears in the courtroom, asking Sypolt for leniency for her son.

“He wouldn’t hurt anyone,” she said through sobs. “I wish I could take this from him …. I wish I could.”

Wake cried when Lee told the court how his 40-year-old sister was a single mother who had three teenagers ranging in age from 15 to 19.

“She (Kirkendall) said she was angry about the accident, but she said she forgave him,” Lee said.