ARLINGTON — Jan. 20 at 2:26 a.m.:
Tausha Schmidt and Justin Wilkerson enter 7-Eleven with their umbrellas. It is raining.
• 2:29 a.m.: They buy cigarettes and leave the store. Surveillance video shows their umbrellas as the couple walks to the corner of Highway 9 and 204th Street NE.
Schmidt and Wilkerson go north across 204th Street using the crosswalk at the four-way intersection.
• 2:33:42 a.m.: The walk signal activates for them to cross Highway 9’s southbound lanes.
• 2:33:49 a.m.: The signal changes to a flashing red hand, indicating the traffic light on Highway 9 was still red but would be changing soon.
• 2:33:55 a.m.: A driver in a Chevy Malibu hits Schmidt and Wilkerson without slowing down, prosecutors allege.
• 2:34:15 a.m.: The red hand on the crosswalk signal stops flashing.
This timeline is according to criminal charges filed this month against Elliott Bagley, 28, in the deaths of Schmidt and Wilkerson that night. Both victims were from Arlington. They were 39.
An online fundraiser for Schmidt and Wilkerson’s three children has raised over $65,000.
Prosecutors charged Bagley, of Stanwood, with two counts of vehicular homicide in Snohomish County Superior Court.
The previously unreleased analysis of 7-Eleven security footage indicates the traffic light was red when Bagley allegedly hit and killed the couple. He told police it was green, according to charging papers.
When police arrived, officers reportedly found shoes, clothing and vehicle debris both in the intersection and just south on Highway 9. The Chevy Malibu sat with its hazard lights flashing. Its front windshield was shattered with a large hole in it, often “associated with a pedestrian head strike,” deputy prosecutor Tobin Darrow wrote in the charges.
Police first found Bagley standing outside the rental car with his hands in the air. The suspect reportedly said he was driving when he hit someone or something. An officer reported smelling alcohol coming from Bagley, and his eyes were glassy.
The officer asked if he would participate in voluntary sobriety tests. After going back and forth on it, he refused, according to court documents.
In a police interview, Bagley said he’d had two IPAs from a Burlington tavern, about 27 miles north of the crash scene, according to a police report. He told officers he was driving to Lake Stevens.
He was taken to a local hospital, where a sample of his blood was taken. Arlington Police Chief Jonathan Ventura said in an email last month that toxicology testing usually takes six to 12 months. Prosecutors have requested the testing be expedited.
Bagley worked at a big-box store before the crash. His supervisor described him as an “excellent employee” with an “excellent work ethic,” according to court papers. He is the “kindest, nicest guy,” the supervisor reportedly added.
Shortly after his arrest, Everett District Court Judge Tam Bui set bail at $500,000. But after Bagley’s defense attorney noted his lack of criminal history and argued he wasn’t a flight risk, the bail was recently reduced to $150,000.
Bagley was released from jail last week after posting the $150,000. He was ordered to be on electronic home monitoring with an alcohol sensor bracelet, to not consume alcohol, and only to be transported by his mother to and from work.
Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.
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