Tenino woman faces vehicular manslaughter charge

The driver in a fatal Christmas Eve car crash near Napavine has been charged in Lewis County Superior Court for her passenger’s death.

Kimberly J. McPherson, 51, of Tenino, made her first appearance on a court summons Tuesday in Lewis County Superior Court on one count each of vehicular homicide, possession of methamphetamine and possession of heroin.

The crash was reported at 8:42 p.m. Dec. 24, 2016 near the intersection of Forest-Napavine Road and state Route 508 near Napavine.

McPherson was injured in the crash. Her passenger, identified by the Washington State Patrol as Thomas Lininger, 43, of Chehalis, was pronounced dead at the scene.

“It took a while for us … to get all the evidence we needed to charge the case,” said Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher, regarding the time lapse between the crash and when his office filed criminal charges.

Meagher asked Superior Court Judge Joely O’Rourke to order $25,000 unsecured bail, allowing McPherson to remain out of police custody, saying he believed an order from O’Rourke to not drive would mitigate community safety concerns.

Also, Meagher noted McPherson has a surgery scheduled for this week, and said her medical care would be paid for by the jail if she was in custody.

“Given the surgeries, the state did not necessarily want to hang that on the state of Washington,” he said.

O’Rourke granted the bail request but expressed some reservations.

“Honestly, Ms. McPherson, if the state asked to remand you into custody today I would have done that,” she said.

O’Rourke ordered McPherson to have no illegal drugs or alcohol while released and to not get behind the wheel of any kind of vehicle.

“I get even any wind of that, and you will go into custody without bail,” she said.

According to court documents and an initial report from the State Patrol, law enforcement responded Christmas Eve to find the vehicle McPherson was driving, a 1993 Honda Accord, had veered off the highway and struck a tree.

McPherson was pinned in the driver’s seat and Lininger was in the passenger seat, breathing but not responsive. He later died at the scene of the crash.

“Preliminary results indicate Mr. Lininger died as a result of head trauma suffered during the incident,” according to court documents filed by the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office.

McPherson was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital, where she was interviewed by a state trooper trained in drug recognition.

McPherson reportedly provided a breath sample that indicated she had not used alcohol. She reportedly fell asleep “repeatedly” during the interview with troopers, according to court documents, and told troopers she had used controlled substances recently.

A blood test was positive for methamphetamine and opiates, which court documents state may have been from drugs administered at the hospital.

A State Patrol investigation found no indication that McPherson made an attempt to swerve or brake to avoid the collision, according to court documents.

Troopers reported finding methamphetamine, three syringes with a brown liquid identified as heroin and a purse with a pipe containing burnt residue in the vehicle.

McPherson’s next court appearance is scheduled for March 16.

This story was originally published March 9, 2017 at 6:51 PM with the headline "Tenino woman faces vehicular manslaughter charge."