A woman died on May 27 when she was hit by a suspected drunk driver. The suspect, who had a child in the truck at the time, remains in jail on $1 million bail.
LACEY, Wash. — Elke Howard was a retiree and a volunteer who lived at a senior apartment complex in Lacey. Her son said the community lost a giant after a series of crashes that police say were easily preventable.
On May 27, a man and his son went to a 7-Eleven in Lacey to purchase ice cream. The clerk later told police he thought the man was drunk.
The clerk said the two got into a pickup truck, and when they were backing out of the lot, the driver hit another car.
Video then shows the man speed across the busy Pacific Avenue, hitting other cars and eventually striking a woman. The truck ended up in the stairwell of the apartment building.
The 63-year-old woman, Elke Howard, died at the scene.
“It’s a tragedy,” said Kai Howard, the woman’s son. “And my mom was just sitting in the sun, enjoying the one space that she could.”
The suspected driver, David Mwinyi, pleaded not guilty to eight charges, including vehicular homicide, driving under the influence and reckless driving. He remains in jail on $1 million bail.
Howard said his mother loved working with veterans and helping her neighbors.
“I’m very upset,” Kai Howard said. “It’s totally preventable accident. The person who committed the crime could’ve prevented it.”
Police said the driver suffered injuries, but survived. He allegedly later told police he drank a pint of gin before picking up his 7-year-old son from school. The boy was not injured in the crash.
Elke Howard’s family said they hope he gets the maximum sentence.
“That’s just a pure disregard for human life. Everybody that was with my mom, everybody that was driving on the road, and even his own son that was in the car,” Kai Howard said. “It was an awful tragedy I feel was avoidable in so many different ways.”
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