Driver who struck, killed woman in downtown Olympia pleads guilty

The Shelton driver who struck and killed a woman in downtown Olympia in April pleaded guilty Tuesday to vehicular homicide and vehicular assault charges, and could spend nearly eight years in prison.

Jared Dishon, 19, was arrested last year after hitting Maria Hoaglund, 61, with his Ford F250 pickup. Hoaglund later died at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Dishon also hit a man who suffered broken ribs and a hip fracture, according to court documents.

Dishon entered guilty pleas Tuesday before Thurston County Superior Court Judge Mary Sue Wilson. In his written guilty plea statement, Dishon admitted that he was driving under the influence of a drug when he killed one person and injured another.

“I did operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of and affected by a drug. I did thereby cause the death of another person. Additionally, I did cause substantial bodily harm to the second victim as a result of the same collision,” he wrote.

Deputy Prosecutor Olivia Zhou recommended that Dishon be sentenced to seven years, 11 months in prison.

A sentencing hearing hasn’t been scheduled.

Olympia police officers responded to the scene at the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Columbia Street about 6:30 p.m. April 21. A man who identified himself as “Jared” told 911 dispatchers, “It’s not good, it’s not good,” according to court documents.

Officers at the scene saw a blue Ford F250 parked mid-turn in the northernmost lane of Fourth Avenue. A man and a woman were lying unresponsive in the street.

Four people said they were in the truck, and Dishon identified himself as the driver. The passengers reported that they had not seen the couple crossing the street and that the music in the vehicle was loud, according to court documents.

Dishon reportedly told officers that he didn’t see the couple crossing the street because he was “looking back” while he was turning left onto Columbia Street. He said that once he struck them, he put on his brakes and then backed over them.

This story was originally published January 25, 2017 at 2:52 PM with the headline "Driver who struck, killed woman in downtown Olympia pleads guilty."