A Vancouver woman who police suspect was driving under the influence during an alleged hit-and-run crash Saturday night that killed a pedestrian has a nearly decade-long history of driving drunk.
Prosecutors say Jessica Lyn Bankhead has three prior DUI convictions — in 2004, 2006 and 2011 between Washington and Oregon — and an ignition interlock device violation in 2016.
Bankhead, 35, appeared Monday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of hit-and-run resulting in death in connection with a crash that killed 44-year-old Richard Waller of Vancouver.
Deputy Prosecutor James Smith said it’s likely the prosecution will also file charges of second-degree driving with a suspended license and an interlock ignition device violation, both misdemeanors.
Vancouver defense attorney Chris Ramsay, who is representing Bankhead, called 911 on her behalf Sunday morning to report that she wanted to turn herself in. Ramsay would not identify Bankhead over the phone to authorities but arranged to have detectives meet at his office, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
When Bankhead spoke with detectives, she allegedly admitted to being the driver of the 1988 Nissan Pathfinder that struck and killed Waller, the affidavit states.
Deputies and firefighters had responded about 11:30 p.m. Saturday to the 2300 block of Northeast Minnehaha Street for a report of a motorcycle crash. Upon arrival, they found Waller, who was described as living as a transient, dead in the eastbound lanes, and a tipped shopping cart nearby, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
Witnesses told investigators that Waller was walking east in the road, pushing the shopping cart, when a vehicle hit him and then sped away, the sheriff’s office said. Waller was in the middle of the left-hand lane, with his back to traffic, when he was struck, according to the affidavit.
Bankhead’s vehicle was later seized as evidence, and it had damage consistent with the crash, the sheriff’s office said. Detectives think alcohol use may have been a factor in the crash.
Ramsay told the media after Bankhead’s hearing that he doesn’t know if she was driving drunk at the time of the crash, and he said he doesn’t know why police suspect she was.
“This is a terrible accident to say the least,” he said. “But there’s nothing about this crime that shows some sort of criminal intent on this person’s part at the time this collision occurred.”
During Bankhead’s appearance, Smith asked that she be held on $50,000 bail, in part because of her significant DUI history.
In arguing for a lower bail amount, Ramsay, who made a courtesy appearance on Bankhead’s behalf, said she isn’t a flight-risk. She has ties to the community, including two children whom she supports, and a job. He argued that it was dark at the time of the crash, the road isn’t well-lit and there are thick woods on each side.
“This was two people in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Ramsay told Judge David Gregerson.
Gregerson said there is some concern for the public’s safety and set Bankhead’s bail at $40,000. She will be arraigned March 2.
