Police: DUIs alleged in separate crashes leaving 1 dead, 1 injured
A bicyclist was killed and a motorcyclist was seriously injured in separate accidents Wednesday, and in both cases, police say, the drivers who caused the crashes admitted to recently smoking marijuana.
A truck hit a bicyclist near the intersection of Mission Avenue and Rebecca Street around 7 p.m. Wednesday. Robert G. Hargrave, 27, was driving his pickup west on Mission while the cyclist was riding on the sidewalk on the south side of the street. Hargrave’s truck went across the median, across the eastbound lanes and hit the cyclist and a brick wall.
Police officers at the scene reported that Hargrave was alone in his truck when they arrived, according to court documents. One officer said that Hargrave kept pressing down on the gas even after he crashed, causing his truck tires to dig a trench in the grass. As they continued to spin, the tires were ripped off the wheels, according to court documents.
A medic at the scene told investigators Hargrave had “pin point” pupils when they arrived at the scene. A drug recognition expert spoke to Hargrave and gave him sobriety tests at the hospital and said he believes Hargrave was under the influence of a drug.
Hargrave reportedly told investigators that he smokes marijuana every night before bed to help him sleep, according to court documents. He also said he couldn’t remember the accident and didn’t think he had been driving his truck.
He will be arrested on a vehicular homicide charge once he is released from the hospital, according to a police news release. The bicyclist’s identity has not been released by the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Spokane City Councilman Jon Snyder said Mission is one of many busy streets designated as shared roadways in the city’s master bike plan despite having no bike lanes.
“In reality it means nothing,” he said. “It’s not a very bike friendly street. We’ve got two lanes of fast traffic there. This person probably felt they were safer on the sidewalk.”
“This is just such a messed-up thing, to have two DUI incidents on the same day with vulnerable users, a bicyclist and a motorcyclist,” Snyder added.
The second accident happened on another busy street during rush hour. Jason M. Pederson, 35, was driving his pickup south on Hamilton Street just before 5:30 p.m. Wednesday and was attempting to make a left turn to go east on Augusta Street. He told police he saw a car turn west on Augusta so he assumed it was clear for him to turn east, according to court documents. He turned left in front of a northbound motorcycle, which impacted the passenger side of his truck behind the door.
The motorcyclist, identified as David E. Bradbury, sustained several broken bones and a broken hip, according to a police news release.
An officer who spoke to Pederson after the accident said his pupils were constricted and he smelled of alcohol and marijuana. Pederson reportedly told the officer he had smoked marijuana that morning, but refused to take a field sobriety test, according to court documents. Pederson appeared in court Thursday on a charge of vehicular assault. His bond was set at $5,000.
Police obtained warrants to get blood samples from both drivers to test for the presence of drugs and/or alcohol.