EVERETT — On the evening of Aug. 15, a man was driving south through Everett.
Near the 5400 block of Broadway, there is one lane each direction. The shoulder in the southbound lane is separated from the paved shoulder with a white fog line.
The car in front of the man was a silver SUV, according to police. The man saw the SUV veer over the fog line, then saw an elderly woman flung onto the nearby grass, he later told investigators. He couldn’t tell if she fell out of the SUV. Security footage from a nearby house showed the woman, identified as 80-year-old Patricia Oman, was walking on Broadway when the SUV struck her.
The SUV reportedly stopped on the shoulder. The witness stopped his car just beyond it, and called 911. He watched as a woman got out of the driver’s seat of the SUV and examined Oman. He told detectives she looked annoyed.
The woman got back into the SUV and left, according to court papers. While the witness remained on the line with 911, he caught part of her license plate: BSW4.
Under state law, drivers who injure someone with their car must stop, render aid and remain at the scene. In criminal charges filed Thursday, prosecutors alleged the SUV’s driver did not meet those requirements.
Oman was taken to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, according to police. Four days later, she died.
On Aug. 30, an Everett detective disseminated information about the SUV. Over a week later, police were called to a vehicle blocking a driveway. When they arrived, they found a silver Ford Escape, an SUV. They found drug paraphernalia in the hands of the woman in the driver’s seat, identified as Amber Conaway, according to the charges for a hit-and-run fatality accident, a felony. She also was suspected of having fentanyl on her.
The Escape had damage to the front corner on the passenger side, including a broken headlight cover and a missing fog light. The license plate number matched the first few letters and numbers the witness had reported, deputy prosecutor Tobin Darrow wrote in the charges. Officers detained her and impounded the Escape.
Police later examined the Escape. They found blood on the front corner on the passenger side, which prosecutors have requested be compared to Oman’s DNA. And broken plastic pieces found near the victim’s body fit perfectly with the broken pieces on the Escape.
Police presented the witness with a montage of photos, including one of Conaway, 32. He identified her with 90% certainty, according to the charges.
On Sept. 22, five weeks after the crash, police arrested Conaway. She has remained in the Snohomish County Jail since, with bail set at $100,000. Court papers list addresses for the defendant in Marysville, Granite Falls and Seattle.
Conaway had no criminal history, court records show. At an arraignment Friday, she pleaded not guilty.
An obituary noted Oman graduated from Everett High School in 1960. She worked for Pacific Northwest Bell and later as a real estate broker.
“She was passionate about fighting injustice and protecting our environment, and those who knew her were blessed by her loyalty and kindness,” the obituary reads. “Pat will be dearly missed by her family and many friends, who will continue to cherish the memories.”
Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.
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