By Jim Haley
Herald Writer
EVERETT — A Lynnwood man who allegedly had a blood-alcohol reading nearly three times the legal limit was charged Thursday with the hit-and-run death of a 23-year-old female U.S. Navy ensign.
Roy Gursli, 43, is scheduled to be arraigned on a charge of vehicular homicide in Snohomish County Superior Court on Feb. 8, deputy prosecutor Kathy Webber said.
Gursli is accused of driving a Ford F350 pickup truck that on Oct. 26 struck Carrie Shoemaker, an ensign whose ship was visiting Naval Station Everett, as she crossed Broadway with friends in downtown Everett.
Shoemaker was stationed aboard a San Diego-based destroyer, the USS Milius, where she was an electronic warfare officer. She has a twin brother who is also in the Navy.
Gursli was arrested shortly after the incident when his truck failed to negotiate a curve and plowed into a parked truck and fence at Beverly Park Road and 47th Place W. near Edmonds.
According to court documents, Gursli had a strong order of alcohol on him, his eyes were glassy and bloodshot, and he staggered when he got out of the truck following the second crash. A blood sample taken within two hours of his arrest was nearly three times the legal limit, Webber wrote.
If convicted, Gursli could spend about 3½ years in prison.
According to Webber, a motorist saw the Ford pickup turn from 19th Street onto Broadway shortly before Shoemaker was struck. He told police the truck was traveling erratically and the driver ran two red lights before stopping in the middle of the intersection at the third light.
The motorist called 911 fearing the driver would hurt someone, but lost sight of the truck between California Street and Hewitt Avenue at a bridge over the railroad tracks, Webber said.
As the motorist came over the crest of the bridge, he saw Shoemaker lying motionless in the street.
"The defendant’s truck was nowhere in sight," Webber said in charging papers.
Shoemaker, the naval officer, had been out with friends from their destroyer and had been dropped off on the east side of Broadway, across the street from a popular Everett tavern.
Companions saw the dark truck speeding toward them and ran, but Shoemaker didn’t make it. The truck sped off after hitting the woman, Webber said.
Another motorist who witnessed the accident followed the truck onto I-5 and was able to see the defendant’s face, Webber said. She said witnesses were able to supply police with all but the last letter of the license plate of Gursli’s truck.
The motorist who pursued the Ford onto I-5 identified Gursli as the man he saw behind the wheel of the vehicle that struck Shoemaker.
Webber also said police found hair in the grill of the truck.
You can call Herald Writer Jim Haley at 425-339-3447
or send e-mail to haley@heraldnet.com.
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