Forks teen jailed in fatal hit-and-run released without bail
FORKS, Wash. - A 19-year-old Forks man arrested after a fatal hit-and-run collision with a pedestrian Monday in Forks was released without bail Wednesday afternoon.
Garrid James Larson was arrested for investigation of felony hit-and-run in the death of Aamanda Louise LaGambina, 25, also of Forks.
He was released on his own recognizance by Clallam County Superior Court Judge S. Brooke Taylor and was warned to remain in the area.
“It would be different if there were alcohol or drugs involved,” Taylor said.
John Troberg, Clallam County deputy prosecuting attorney, did not ask for bail and noted that Larson had no criminal record, is gainfully employed, has family in the area and that there was no indication Larson was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the collision.
Larson had turned himself in to police Monday night after driving away from the collision.
Defense attorney Karen Unger agreed with Taylor and Troberg, saying, “I believe it is just a tragic accident.”
Trooper Russ Winger, State Patrol spokesman, said LaGambina was hit by Larson's 2000 red Toyota pickup truck at about 8:45 p.m. Monday while walking on Calawah Way near Leppell Road,
Larson was driving eastbound on Calawah Way, and LaGambina was walking westbound toward town when she was hit, troopers said, adding that the truck carried her 80 feet down the road.
LaGambina, a 2005 graduate of Forks High School who was a student at Peninsula College in 2012 and has a young daughter, was pronounced dead at Forks Community Hospital.
A roadside memorial with a cross and flowers has appeared near the site of the collision on Calawah Way across from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Her family has declined to make a statement and has not announced a date for a memorial service.
The collision caused front-end damage to the truck, and one of LaGambina's shoes was found lodged in the frame of the truck, according to a probable-cause statement filed in court Wednesday.
In the statement, State Patrol Trooper Jason Fallon said Larson — who reported the collision to police later that night — told police he knew he had hit something but was afraid to go back and see what it was.
A passer-by spotted LaGambina in the road and called 911. Forks police who answered the call found her lying in the road at 1301 Calawah Way.
In the probable-cause statement, Larson told police he saw “a shadowy figure in the road” and tried to stop, Fallon said.
According to Fallon's report, Larson “admitted that he did not stop because his adrenaline was pumping and he was scared.
“He stated he never went back to the scene because he was afraid and did not want to see what he hit,” the statement said.
There were no apparent witnesses to the collision, Winger has said.
Fallon said Larson reported that he drove to a friend's house on Elk Loop Road, where he left his truck and received a ride to his parents' house.
On the way to his parents', he called off-duty Forks Police Officer Mike Rowley to report the collision and was instructed to stay in place and wait for officers to arrive.
After police arrived at Larson's home, he was tested for drug and alcohol consumption, and there was no indication he was under the influence of an intoxicant, Winger said.
Forks police officers found the truck where Larson had told them they would.
Investigators said LaGambina was walking against traffic in the eastbound lane, Winger said.
The State Patrol is investigating whether LaGambina was walking in the travel lane and whether she was wearing clothing that would blend into the darkness, he said.
Fallon noted that conditions were “dark and raining” at the time of the collision.
An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday afternoon, Mark Nichols, Clallam County chief deputy prosecuting attorney, said Tuesday.
The county Prosecuting Attorney's Office also serves as coroner.
Calawah Way is not a state highway and is just within the Forks city limit, but the State Patrol has taken the lead on the case with assistance from the Forks Police Department and the Clallam County Sheriff's Office.
The State Patrol was called in because the agency has personnel well-trained for car-versus-pedestrian investigations and the reconstruction software needed for a felony case, City Attorney Rod Fleck said Wednesday.
Larson's pickup truck was towed to the State Patrol's Port Angeles vehicle yard as part of the investigation.
-----
The Peninsula Daily News is a media partner of KOMO News. Read the original Daily news story.
Garrid James Larson was arrested for investigation of felony hit-and-run in the death of Aamanda Louise LaGambina, 25, also of Forks.
He was released on his own recognizance by Clallam County Superior Court Judge S. Brooke Taylor and was warned to remain in the area.
“It would be different if there were alcohol or drugs involved,” Taylor said.
John Troberg, Clallam County deputy prosecuting attorney, did not ask for bail and noted that Larson had no criminal record, is gainfully employed, has family in the area and that there was no indication Larson was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the collision.
Larson had turned himself in to police Monday night after driving away from the collision.
Defense attorney Karen Unger agreed with Taylor and Troberg, saying, “I believe it is just a tragic accident.”
Trooper Russ Winger, State Patrol spokesman, said LaGambina was hit by Larson's 2000 red Toyota pickup truck at about 8:45 p.m. Monday while walking on Calawah Way near Leppell Road,
Larson was driving eastbound on Calawah Way, and LaGambina was walking westbound toward town when she was hit, troopers said, adding that the truck carried her 80 feet down the road.
LaGambina, a 2005 graduate of Forks High School who was a student at Peninsula College in 2012 and has a young daughter, was pronounced dead at Forks Community Hospital.
A roadside memorial with a cross and flowers has appeared near the site of the collision on Calawah Way across from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Her family has declined to make a statement and has not announced a date for a memorial service.
The collision caused front-end damage to the truck, and one of LaGambina's shoes was found lodged in the frame of the truck, according to a probable-cause statement filed in court Wednesday.
In the statement, State Patrol Trooper Jason Fallon said Larson — who reported the collision to police later that night — told police he knew he had hit something but was afraid to go back and see what it was.
A passer-by spotted LaGambina in the road and called 911. Forks police who answered the call found her lying in the road at 1301 Calawah Way.
In the probable-cause statement, Larson told police he saw “a shadowy figure in the road” and tried to stop, Fallon said.
According to Fallon's report, Larson “admitted that he did not stop because his adrenaline was pumping and he was scared.
“He stated he never went back to the scene because he was afraid and did not want to see what he hit,” the statement said.
There were no apparent witnesses to the collision, Winger has said.
Fallon said Larson reported that he drove to a friend's house on Elk Loop Road, where he left his truck and received a ride to his parents' house.
On the way to his parents', he called off-duty Forks Police Officer Mike Rowley to report the collision and was instructed to stay in place and wait for officers to arrive.
After police arrived at Larson's home, he was tested for drug and alcohol consumption, and there was no indication he was under the influence of an intoxicant, Winger said.
Forks police officers found the truck where Larson had told them they would.
Investigators said LaGambina was walking against traffic in the eastbound lane, Winger said.
The State Patrol is investigating whether LaGambina was walking in the travel lane and whether she was wearing clothing that would blend into the darkness, he said.
Fallon noted that conditions were “dark and raining” at the time of the collision.
An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday afternoon, Mark Nichols, Clallam County chief deputy prosecuting attorney, said Tuesday.
The county Prosecuting Attorney's Office also serves as coroner.
Calawah Way is not a state highway and is just within the Forks city limit, but the State Patrol has taken the lead on the case with assistance from the Forks Police Department and the Clallam County Sheriff's Office.
The State Patrol was called in because the agency has personnel well-trained for car-versus-pedestrian investigations and the reconstruction software needed for a felony case, City Attorney Rod Fleck said Wednesday.
Larson's pickup truck was towed to the State Patrol's Port Angeles vehicle yard as part of the investigation.
-----
The Peninsula Daily News is a media partner of KOMO News. Read the original Daily news story.
schools r the mental heath hospitals of the 80s, get a grip or give it up..
Bad decision. He's a kid and was scared. Sad all the way around.Â
@Heisenberg why ? please explain why you feel this is what .. there has to be reasoning behind your thoughts and i bet they r as good as your statement , because if he was just a punk you surly would not of expressed any leanness. with out knowing him personally
She may have been wearing dark clothes or walking "in the shadows" whatever whatever but when he hit her if he would have gone back there may have been a chance he could have helped her. No excuses. And being gainfully employed means he can at least pay restitution thank you very much.
Is he a vampire or a werewolf? I mean he's from Forks and all those documentaries that have been out explain it all.
there are a lot of factors that are not reported in the story here that I'm sure the judge saw. I don't want to sit here and bash the deceased but to be fair to the kid he made one poor decision while the lady in the middle of the road was in and out of jail and made many. kind of sad one life was lost, but this isn't worth destroying the 19 year old kid's too.
@dorimonsonfan It sounds like you're saying she was a criminal so her life wasn't worth as much as his. I don't see that because she had problems in her past, he should be excused for killing her. It may have been an accident, but what if she could have been saved had he stopped right away? If he get's away with a felony this time, what's he going to do next time he's in trouble?
It started out to be a tragic accident, when he left the scene he made the choice to turn it into a felony. What if his victim would have had help immediately? Could she have survived? At least she wouldn't have had to die alone. I just can't understand why he was released without bail, unless it's because he has friends in high places.
Posters, remember someone died here, not a time to make jokes.
I see or rather DO NOT see so many people who are wearing DARK clothing and walking on the side of roads in the Kingston area every day! I think it is quite idiotic with all the reflective clothing they make these days. I am not defending what he did, but can see how EASILY this can happen.....
If he stopped right away rather than dragging her 80 freakin feet, she might have survived. Idiot.
"The State Patrol is investigating whether LaGambina was walking in the travel lane and whether she was wearing clothing that would blend into the darkness, he said." Â How much of an investigation is needed to figure out if she was wearing dark clothing making her all but impossible to see on a dark and rainy night? Â This is one of my biggest fears as pedestrians walk about at night with dark clothing on from top to bottom and expect to be seen by cars travelling at 40mph or more. Â This could simply be a tragic accident.
@NWNative I am pretty sure no one is disagreeing that this was a tragic accident. The issue is that he fled the scene. That is illegal. Period. Just because it was a tragic accident and you were scared doesn't give you a pass or make it okay to leave your damaged truck at your friends house, catch a ride home, then call you buddy on the police force to find out what to do.
@NWNative I totally agree. This is one of my biggest fears too.
@NWNative See, the thing is, that it went from "tragic accident" to felony, when he chose to drive away after hitting the poor woman.  He could have stayed, and perhaps her life would have been saved.  He could have been texting, as well.  But hopefully the police will get his phone records to show if that is the case. Â
@DT @NWNative I agree.
And there are already multiple people making excuses or using this as a means to promote other racial claims or agenda's.
Pathetic. Â Grow up people. Â
@Jake V @DT @NWNative too many kids r just not educated and cant afford to drive, you know you cant live right with out them.. talk about pot causing paranoia they dont need to be HIGH now days to know they cant live one day of their lives with out breaking the law WHAT THE HELL R WE THINKING? JUST HOW DO YOU STOP PEOPLE FROM LETTING SOME ONE DIE BECAUSE THEY WERE TOO SCARED TO STOP? because these kids CANT AFFORD TO LIVE Alife when the parents r alone struggling to live. when do people get a clue.  ill say your tough love came back and bit you in the butt this is just 8years in to it ....
@NWNative you wouldn't be saying that because this kid is clearly native would you?
No bail??? He left that person without calling for medical help. Being "scared" is no excuse. He killed a little girl's mother!
It sounds like his family has more connections with the powers that be, than the victim's.
@Gnirk this is FORKS, way behind the times over there.
@hello @Gnirk and that's a fact.
@Gnirk You might be surprised at how stupid small town judges are, on the other hand you might not. They are REALLY stupid. Or it's just a horny old female judge.
@yourbuddy@Gnirk Judge S. Brooke Taylor is not a horny female, he is a male.
@yourbuddy @Gnirk Man you are a tool.
The judge let this idiot out because she is horny?
It makes me sick to think you get to vote.
So what are they gonna say if he decides to run?
@Zoso "look at how cute his butt is."
wow - no bail? nothing?
@SwampThing In light of the fact that he went and ditched the truck at his friend's house, and got a ride home, THEN called later on. Makes me wonder why in the hell the court thought that he should be let out without bail.  It was one thing if it was a tragic accident, and he stayed and rendered aid. But it's like there is NO consequence for causing the death of the young woman.  He could have stayed around, and she may have lived if he'd gotten help immediately. It's like small town justice or something.. unreal, huh?Â
@DT @SwampThing Would they have given an ugly man the same deal? Tell me his looks didn't play a big part in getting him released without bail for killing someone and ditching the truck at a friends house? The dead women was carried 80 feet on his front grill, tell me he didn't know what he had hit. If he thought it was a wild animal why didn't he stop and survey the damage to his truck?
@DT @SwampThing Did you read where it said he called an off duty officer to report the accident? It should read he called a friend of his on the police force. Forks is a small town, obviously this shinning example of a model citizen has friends in high places... I have to wonder if the response would have been different if the young woman had friends in high places.
@DT @SwampThing EXACTLY what i was thinking
Forks, Oh that vampire or zombie town somewhere in the northwest...
@Windowseat he kind of looks like the wolf guy huh? That's probably why he's getting away with it.
the truck carried her 80 feet down the road-i'm thinking he knew full well what he'd hit
@izwideopen If he carried her on his front grill 80 feet further down the road how could he possibly not know it was a human being?
Afraid to go back there? Really? So he left the poor girl to die alone? How scared must she have been? What a horrible choice by the court. Â People need to be held accountable from the start. Â It's almost worse to know that he was supposedly not under the influence... because that indicated rational thought, and a choice to not see if he could get help for the person he just hit. Â He had left his truck at a friend's house, then got a ride home. Â Clearly with the intent of hiding what had happened, as the truck was drivable. Â What difference could it have made to the young mother, had he called 911 immediately when it happened? Â Â
His lawyer must have filed a writ of "Boys will be boys."
Doesn't doing a hit & run while not under the influence of anything make you even more evil? Â You were thinking clearly and left someone to die by the side of the road. Â That doesn't seem like that deserves no punishment to me.Â
What a baby.