Not enough evidence to charge driver in fatal Yelm Highway crash, prosecutor says
A 47-year-old woman who was arrested last weekend on suspicion of vehicular homicide was released Monday, according to the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office.
Jeffery Lippert, chief criminal deputy prosecuting attorney, said Wednesday there was not enough evidence at this point to charge her with a crime. The incident is still under investigation by the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.
About 2:45 a.m. Saturday, a 37-year-old man was headed east in a Kia when the car hit a guardrail in the 8700 block of Yelm Highway Southeast. Authorities believe the driver then over-corrected his steering and drove into the westbound lane and crashed into a Dodge pickup truck.
The 47-year-old woman was behind the wheel of the pickup truck and officers believed she was driving under the influence. The Prosecutor’s Office will know more once blood test results are complete. She was initially booked into jail on suspicion of vehicular homicide.
The 37-year-old man, who died at the scene, has been identified as Mario Gastelum of Olympia, according to the Thurston County Coroner’s Office.
A preliminary investigation has found that Gastelum’s vehicle was “fully in the (westbound) lane,” Lippert said.
Once the Sheriff’s Office has completed its investigation, it will be referred to the Prosecutor’s Office for review, Lippert said.
This story was originally published July 3, 2019 at 3:42 PM.
