Driver in Ryan Lobue death pleads guilty
posted 01/20/04
In a packed courtroom, a tearful Giovanna Drew pleaded guilty to felony hit and run and vehicular homicide Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2004. The 21-year-old Friday Harbor woman will be sentenced March 18, 2004. The prosecutor is recommending a sentence in the middle of the standard range. If San Juan County Superior Court Judge Vickie Churchill accepts the recommendation, Drew would serve 2 1/2 to three years.
In her guilty statement, Drew admitted to driving in a reckless manner and leaving the scene of the September 12, 2003 accident on Bailer Hill Road. Ryan Lobue, age 18, was hit as he was riding his bicycle home. He died hours later in Harborview Medical Center as a result of his injuries. Drew's blood alcohol level was .19 when she went to the sheriff's office several hours after the crash.
Judge Churchill accepted Drew's plea of guilty on the felony hit and run charge. It carries a standard range of 31 to 40 months with a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000. While the prosecutor is recommending 36 months, the judge is not under any obligation to follow that recommendation. By pleading guilty Drew gave up her right to appeal any sentence within the standard range. She could only appeal the sentence if it went outside the standard range.
The guilty plea for the vehicular homicide charge was not accepted at the Jan. 20 hearing. The Judge will hold a hearing to accept the plea on March 18, 2004. The standard range for vehicular homicide is 26 to 34 months in prison and community custody of 18 to 36 months. Vehicular homicide is a Class A felony and carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a fine up to $50,000.
San Juan County Prosecutor Randy Gaylord said the reason for the delay in accepting the plea was to allow the defense to argue for a first-time offender disposition on the felony hit and run charge. By treating the two charges sequentially as separate cases, the state does not block off the defense's ability to argue for the first-time offender waiver.
Gaylord anticipates Judge Churchill will accept the plea at the March 18 hearing and will pronounce sentence on both charges on that day.
Drew remains free on bond until the sentencing hearing. Several friends and relatives attended the hearing to show their support of the young woman.
Judge Churchill noted the presence of the victim's family and friends in the courtroom. "I hope this brings some closure," she said.
Ryan Lobue's mother, Toni, was surrounded by friends and relatives during the hearing. After it concluded, San Juan County Criminal Prosecutor Charlie Silverman walked over, shook her hand and said, "It's done."
Charges filed in fatal car crash
posted 01/15/04
San Juan County Prosecutor filed charges of vehicular homicide and felony hit and run against Giovanna Drew, age 21, for a Sept. 12, 2003 car crash. According to the prosecutor, the car Drew was driving hit Ryan Lobue as he was riding his bicycle on Bailer Hill Road. Lobue, age 18, died hours later as a result of his injuries.
According to the charging documents filed in San Juan County Superior Court on Jan. 15, 2004, Drew was driving the car after consuming substantial amounts of alcohol. After hitting Lobue she drove away from the scene and abandoned her car. She went to the sheriff's office later that night and reported her car had been stolen. She was placed under arrest and her blood-alcohol level was tested. The level was 0.19. Drivers are considered intoxicated at .08.
Drew was speeding at the time of the crash according to Shane Bison, one of the passengers in the car. Three passengers in the car said there was glare from the setting sun. A driver who had passed Lobue moments before the crash stated: although there was a bright glare from the sun, she had no problem seeing the bicyclist.
Arraignment on the charges has been set for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2004. Vehicular homicide is a Class A felony and carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and/or a $50,000 fine. Felony hit and run is a Class B felony and carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and/or a $20,000 fine.
AFFIDAVIT
by County Criminal Prosecutor Charles Z. Silverman
Sgt. Scott Brennan of the San Juan County Sheriff's Office reported the following: Shortly before 6:55 p.m. on September 12, 2003, Sgt. Brennan responded to a report of a bicyclist who was reported to have been struck by a vehicle. He saw Ryan Lobue lying on the grass shoulder of Bailer Hill Road on San Juan Island. His left leg was almost severed, his right leg and arm were obviously broken and he appeared to have head injuries. He was unconscious and having trouble breathing. His crushed and bent bicycle was approximately 10 feet off the road. The roadway was strewn with parts from a vehicle, the bicycle and the personal property of Mr. Lobue.
Steve McMurtrie told Sgt. Brennan that he was driving east on Bailer Hill Road when he saw Ryan Lobue riding his bicycle westbound along the edge of the road. There was a dark colored foreign compact car coming up at what appeared to be a high rate of speed behind Lobue. As this car passed Mr. McMurtrie, he heard a loud thumping sound of an impact. When he looked in his rear view mirror, the bicyclist was gone and there was a cloud of dust. The dark colored car slowed down and then drove away. Mr. McMurtrie returned to the area and found Ryan Lobue lying on the shoulder of the road.
Maggie Shaw reported that just before the collision, she passed Ryan Lobue on Bailer Hill Road near Ranchos Road. Although there was a bright glare from the sun, she had no problem seeing Ryan Lobue as she approached him. She pulled into her driveway on Bailer Hill Road, just past Ranchos Road, got out of her car and started unloading items when she heard a loud noise. She then saw a dark colored, 4-door Honda with tinted windows driving slowly west on Bailer Hill Road. The car than accelerated up the hill and left the scene. Ms. Shaw went to the scene of the collision and saw Ryan Lobue lying in the ditch.
Shane Bison and Jesse Barnett contacted deputies at the scene and told them that they had been in a car driven by Giovanna Drew that was involved in a collision on Bailer Hill Road near Ranchos Road. Bison said that Giovanna Drew was driving past False Bay Road on Bailer Hill Road at approximately 60 mph and that he and Barnett asked her to slow down. He said that she slowed approximately 5 mph and continued up the hill. Bison said that there was glare in the windshield from the sun.
As a vehicle passed them going in the opposite direction, their windshield exploded inward, he heard the thump of something going over the car's roof, and there was panic in the car. He said they did not know what they had hit. They said Ms. Drew continued down Bailer Hill Road, turned down Moonlight Drive, parked the car and inspected it. The windshield was broken and there was significant damage to the car. The two young men returned to the scene, saw that the aid unit was there, saw the bicycle, and realized that a person had been hit and returned to Moonlight Drive. Another person took them back to the scene to contact deputies.
Julia Ross told Sgt. Brennan that she was in Ms. Drew's car as they headed west on Bailer Hill Road towards the west side. As they headed up the hill, there was glare on the windshield from the sun and Ms. Drew passed a beer she had been drinking to Ms. Ross. Her description of what happened at the time of the collision was similar to that of Mr. Bison. Ms. Ross had cuts on her arms and an abrasion on her face from the broken windshield.
Several witnesses provided statements to the sheriff's office indicating that they had observed Ms. Drew consume and/or claim that she had consumed a significant amount of alcohol prior to striking Mr. Lobue.
Undersheriff Jon Zerby found Ms. Drew's Honda parked in a field off Moonlight Drive, approximately .7 miles from the accident scene. The windshield was broken, there was fresh damage to the front end and the roof, and the keys were in the ignition. An open and partially full can of beer was on the console.
According to Deputy Miniken, Giovanna Lorraine Drew appeared at the sheriff's office to report that her car had been stolen. She was arrested and samples of her blood were taken. Tests performed on the blood sample by the state toxicologist revealed that her blood-alcohol concentration was 0.19.
The King County Medical Examiner's Office performed an autopsy and reported that Ryan Lobue died from injuries sustained in the collision.
Based upon the above facts, there is probable cause to believe that Ms. Drew, after consuming a substantial amount of alcohol, drove her car in a reckless manner, that her driving proximately caused injury to Ryan Lobue, and that his injuries were the proximate cause of his death.
Charges delayed again for driver
posted 11/18/03
Judge Alan Hancock granted another extension in the filing of charges against Giovanna Drew regarding the Sept. 12, 2003 fatal car accident. The San Juan County Prosecutor's office now has until January 15, 2004 to file charges.
Update on car crash investigation
posted 10/17/03
San Juan County Deputy Prosecutor Charlie Silverman said the earliest charges would be filed regarding the driver involved in the Sept. 12, 2003 car crash is October 27, 2003. Giovanna Drew was driving when her Honda struck bicyclist Ryan Lobue. He died later that night as a result of his injuries. Silverman said it is unlikely the prosecutor's office will be ready to file by October 27. The investigation is still underway. The sheriff's office and the Washington State Patrol have been investigating the acccident. Drew is subject to release conditions even though she hasn't been charged yet.
72-hour deadline waived, charges remain in effect
updated 7:34 p.m. 09/17/03
San Juan County Deputy Prosecutor Charlie Silverman and Defense Attorney Craig Platt have agreed to extend the 72-hour deadline regarding charges against Giovanna Drew. The conditions of release and the bail remain in effect for suspicion of vehicular assault and felony hit and run.
By law, defendants must be charged within 72 hours of the probable cause hearing. In an interview Monday, County Prosecutor Randy Gaylord said the deadline would expire and the release conditions terminate at 5 p.m. Sept. 17, 2003. The plan was to wait for the completion of the investigation and then file charges. Silverman said Gaylord was unaware at the time of the interview of the agreement which was being crafted between the attorneys.
The release conditions were modified to include no contact with the victim's family and no operation of motor vehicles. Drew can travel within the state. Previously she was restricted to San Juan County. The multiple release conditions also include no consumption of alcohol.
Affadavit
This affadavit by Sgt. Brennan was used at the Sept. 13, 2003 probable cause hearing.
On 9-12-2003 at approximately 18:55 I responded, along with the San Juan Aid Unit to a report of an injured bicyclist at Bailer Hill Road, north of Ranchos Road. We arrived and found Ryan LoBue, 18, lying in the ditch, with his bicycle nearby. It was obvious from the massive injuries suffered by LoBue and the damage to the bike that he had been struck by a vehicle. Witnesses Maggie Shaw and Steve McMurtrie stated that while they did not see the actual collision, they heard the sound of the impact, saw a dark colored import car slow down and then speed away from the scene. When they went to the road, they found LoBue and called for help.
Car parts were left at the scene, that were later found to match the suspect vehicle. While examining the scene, passengers Shane Bison and Jesse Barnett returned to the scene and admitted to being in the vehicle. They said the driver was Giovanna Drew, the front seat passenger was Julia Ross and the car, a dark green Honda was hidden on Moonlight Drive a short distance away.
Undersheriff Zerby responded and found the car, a dark green Honda Accord 4-door registered to Giovanna Drew. The vehicle had damage to the right front end consistent with injuries and damage at the scene.
Giovanna Drew was found and arrested and Julia Ross was found and interviewed. Ross, Barnett and Bison tell a consistent story of alcohol being consumed at Jacksons Beach and then while driving on Bailer Hill Road. The sun was glaring on the windshield on the hill at Bailer Hill and they could not see. They felt an impact, but didn't know what they hit. They slowed, but continued to drive until they could pull over. On seeing the damage Drew and Ross fled and Bison and Barnett returned to the scene.
Initially Drew denied being in the car, claiming it was stolen earlier in the day. She later admitted to driving but denied alcohol use or consumption.
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