In brief: SUV owner cleared in deadly hit-and-run

Sat., March 15, 2014

The owner of a gold SUV impounded Monday has been cleared of any involvement in a fatal hit-and-run accident involving a pedestrian, according to Spokane police.

Don Foster, 55, died after he was hit at Mission Avenue and South Riverton Drive. Witnesses told police a gold SUV was involved and a tipster pointed them to the nearby home of Teri Johnson, where a gold SUV with front-end damage was parked.

Johnson told police and media outlets that she was innocent. She told police she hit a pole in December and was at home texting on her phone at the time of the accident. Police obtained a search warrant for her phone records.

“She’s been cleared at this point,” police spokeswoman Monique Cotton said. “The information we were able to obtain did not indicate that she was involved.”

The investigation is continuing, and anyone with information on the fatal accident is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233. “This is still a top priority for us,” Cotton said.

Nina Culver

Boy pleads not guilty in crash that killed girls

A 16-year-old boy accused of vehicular homicide in the deaths of two classmates during an October reckless drive pleaded not guilty to the charges earlier this week.

Preston Maher was criminally charged for the deaths of McKenzie Mott and Josie Freier, both 15, in January. Detectives say Maher left a party the night of Oct. 5 to take what witnesses called the “Ponderosa jump,” a stretch of road in Spokane Valley that allowed motorists traveling at high speeds to fly airborne for a moment.

Court documents indicate Maher’s gold Infiniti was traveling close to 70 miles per hour when it left the street near 5200 Bates Road and struck a tree. The posted speed limit there is 25 miles per hour, according to investigators.

Both girls were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash and died at the scene. Maher was transported to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, where he recovered from his injuries.

Maher had received his driver’s license the day before the collision, according to court records.

Prosecutors elected to try Maher as a juvenile because of his lack of criminal history and school records. An adjudicatory hearing in the matter is tentatively scheduled for August, where Maher faces the possibility of juvenile detention until he turns 21, according to court records.

Kip Hill

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