Driver of Vehicle in Tuesday’s Hit and Run Has Contacted Law Enforcement
Okin said that his office contacted law enforcement yesterday. “To my knowledge, when we contacted law enforcement as far as I can tell they did not know the identification of the driver,” he said. “We have offered to turn the driver in to law enforcement when they are ready to accept her… The driver is making themselves available to law enforcement to make an arrest.”
Okin believes that his client’s information led to the search yesterday of the Becker Lane home in Fortuna where the suspect vehicle was found. He said, “I believe that it is our contact that led to recovery of the jeep and the search warrant.”
The driver of the vehicle, Okin said, is in Humboldt County ready to turn themselves into law enforcement when requested to do so.
Earlier Chapters:
- Hit and Run: Child Injured in Fortuna
- Two Teenage Girls Killed by Hit and Run Driver
- Witness May Have Seen Vehicle Fleeing Last Night’s Fatal Hit and Run
- Vehicle Involved in Hit and Run Death of Teens Found Near Home of Mother of One of the Teens
- CHP Confirms They’ve Recovered Vehicle Involved in Fatal Hit and Run at One of the Victim’s Residences
Hat tip to John Chiv who had the first information on this. Thank you.
Note: Apologies to Attorney Benjamin Okin whose name was written incorrectly in the first version of this story.
Latest version as of July 19, 2016: ‘Good Progress’ Learning About Death of Fortuna Teens, Says CHP Spokesperson
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I wonder who it was ?
One of the victim’s mother.
I think it was the brother
The driver’s attorney said, “her.”
Also “themselves” (last Pp) so the driver wasn’t alone in this? af
No, i imagine that was just the annoying method of avoiding gender indication by using plural. Sounds so stupid to me: “The driver is making themselves available…” Whoo. At least they (the gender-free writer) might try, “The driver is making themself…” Though how difficult is it to write, “him or her”?
It is, indeed, annoying. Never, ever mix a singular subject (“driver”) with a plural pronoun (“themselves”). Since the attorney had already identified the driver as a female, it should have instead said “The driver is making herself…”. If the entire article was intended to be gender neutral, “his/her”, “s/he” should have been used throughout. Then the last sentence could have stated “The driver of the vehicle, Okin said, is in Humboldt County and ready to surrender to law enforcement when requested to do so”. I will be the first to admit that to digress into such matters trivializes the matter at hand: the senseless and tragic deaths of two young people and the terrible irony that a family member appears to have been responsible for those deaths.
We all make grammar clashes here and there especially when were talking. The attorney was speaking not writing.
*we’re
Can I claim I did that to make a point…? I won’t go back and edit it in any case so it keeps making the point.
he almost got through that whole statement without indicating gender. slip up. nice work RHBB!
Hate to sound stupid but how long alcohol stay in your system for?
Not long enough to prove anything at this point.
wrong. There is a “T” test that expands the use horizon for booze up to as much as six days, but the clock is ticking.
You still can’t prove they were drunk during that specific time frame using a chemical test. Eyewitness accounts might do the trick, though.
I’m sure the police and nurses at the hospital could testify on her sobriety. Plea bargain anyone
At this point I don’t think the intoxication is even necessary…It was a HIT AND RUN that resulted in multiple deaths (Intoxicated OR NOT!). Pretty sure that alone will have more weight in court than the intoxication. And probably the weight of the act itself is more than enough on ones own conscious. (Once they are coherent to feel their own conscious!!)
24 hours, but since she knew and lived with at least one victim this sounds intentional.
Never end a sentence with a preposition.
The attorney saying “her” in his statement only clues the public into who is trying to take responsibility for the crime.
It doesn’t necessarily speak to who committed the crime.
It was the mother of my friend from school
Don’t start rumors that you have no way of backing up. It clearly says it’s a woman. It doesn’t matter who you think it is. I Bet YOU DONT EVEN Know Him. He’s a very sweet and caring kid. Who wouldn’t hurt anyone. Don’t start rumors.
Trying to look like they came forward to give up the location of the jeep? Like the police, helicopters, and even citizens were not looking for it. Like she should be treated nicer because of it? She hit and killed her daughter, and her daughter’s friend, ran home to hide the fact, instead of staying to help. Mommy dearest deserves massive prison time. Being that she could callously do this to her own daughter, think she would care if it was anyone else?
It’s tantamount to murder!
Could it be that Mom is taking the rap for another family member? Or was she so flat-assed drunk/impaired that she didn’t know whether to shit or go blind and fled the scene? We may never know the answer. One thing I believe we can all agree on and that is that this situation is beyond tragic. Any prison sentence handed down will be too short and I would bet would be shorter than the driver would self impose.
She had a mind set to go and try to hide the vehicle!!! How does one explain that????
She drove HOME
And hid under a tarp until the police found her.
No, I read an article where the police said the car was not under a tarp
Looking for more info on this whole thing, can you provide a link?
sure, here you go:
http://www.times-standard.com/general-news/20160713/update-one-of-two-victims-in-fortuna-fatal-hit-and-run-idd
CHP and Fortuna Police officers had found the vehicle — a gray 2015 Jeep Wrangler — in the backyard of a residence on Becker Lane on Wednesday afternoon. The vehicle was not covered, May said.
Thanks
I don’t know what I’d do after killing my own kid. The drive to protect them is so strong. I hope she doesn’t have any more kids, so she can kill herself to get out of the pain of killing her child. If she has another kid, then she doesn’t even have the freedom to kill herself.
Sickening.
And proceeded to cover the Jeep with a tarp…..
Whomever it is better be making some quick phone calls. Those are going to be their last, and the law is coming for them. I’d give them a blood test before heading to the jail. A very expensive, highly sensitive one. One that can check for certain blood markers to look for any drug (and yes, alcohol) use, however insignificant. Unfortunately, given the history of a number of folks in this area, this situation repeats; hide out for a day or two to sober up first before turning themselves in. I have no idea what the truth really is, but I’m sure today we’ll all find out.
I’ve said in the past that the incarceration/financial penalties for leaving the scene of an accident should be commensurate with those for DUI, to reduce/eliminate the motivation for this tactic.
This is very true. DUI should be assumed in the case of hit and run where more than an hour has passed.
The penalty should be worse.
Which is worse: “I was impaired and accidentally did this thing”; or “I was sober (And did it on purpose?)”.
Which is worse. Jail, prison, or the death of your child?. Do you really think this woman is not getting LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE?
Well, whomever tried to cover up the crimes seems to have preferred getting away with it.
sadly, she might get both!
Definitely worse to do it soberly on purpose. And if someone is drunk and hits someone it’s a hundred times worse to leave them to die instead of taking your punishment:(
Olkin is the best in the county.
He represented the last girl who hit and ran and killed that homeless man a few months back.
The guy is a master at his craft.
Watch him get this person 6 months too!!!
>:-(
His client’s “cooperation” is transparent as hell. She fled the scene, hid or destroyed evidence and is still on the run. As far as I’m concerned, the first offence alone makes her the scum of the Earth.
I agree. I’m trying to imagine her accepting all the condolences when the whole time it was she. Disgusting!!
My thought (6 months) as well. af
The court of public opinion and shame is a brutal one that no attorney can protect a client from. As well it should be. Nobody in town will let this person forget.
You’ve lived in Fortuna how long?? You have no idea how our community will treat her. I would say to you Just sit back, don’t judge and wait for all to come out. A look at this woman’s past shows nothing Nothing whatsoever. To talk about how the people of Fortuna will treat her. I have known this woman for over 30 years and this is completely out of Character. Please give it a rest and wait until she goes to court, Then you can start acting like a buffoon!
Well i lived in Fortuna and I remember back when a former city councilman was charged of teenage solicitation and that was swept under the rug like many things going in there withinin the good old boy network. So who cares if you have known her for 30 years…We don’t!!!
Everyone’s supposed to stay quiet about your friend until her day in court? When will that be? She’s actively evading capture as we speak!
She is not ” Avoiding capture” nor is she “running” from the cops, they know where she is.what is wrong with all you judgemental people.?! You must all have no skeletons and live in glass houses… Yours will come to you all one day!!!
Well, you seem to have special knowledge the rest of us don’t, so… what happened?
She already ran hid the vehicle and left two babies to die alone on the side of the road … Imagine the statements are correct and it was the mom … That means a little girl died knowing her mom did it and left her there … I don’t see it as being judgmental to say no one could ever deserve to die like that .. I just pray that’s not how it happened but things are looking that way
I can saw with almost 100% assurance that no one replying has ever killed two children with their car and then run and hide the car under a tarp. She killed two people, I don’t care how nice she has been for 30 years. She needs to be jail now and she needed to stay at the scene then if she was infact driving and not covering up for her son.
Agreed with 100%!! Don’t forget that this person killed two kids!! I don’t care if she was Mother Theresa!! She took a life… She took TWO LIVES!! That debt will never be paid, especially with a prior life of be “A good person”. She was not a good person when she fled the scene and HID THE 2 TON MURDER WEAPON!
You are a good friend. I am sure this person’s pain is unimaginable. Stand by her if you can. She will be suffering for the rest of her life.
What an ugly bunch the rest of you are.
As far as any of us know, she killed two children, ran away, tried to hide and as far as we know is still at large. Gee, I’d but her a get-well card but her whereabouts are still unknown.
Hey ‘What A Loss’ [edit]! I have heard from a couple of very reliable sources that the mother had just left The Playroom very intoxicated. She also claims she thought she hit a deer…I call bulls@#*#!! Who hides their vehicle when they think they’ve hit a deer? The fact that you are on here defending her actions leads me to believe one of two things….1) you are the mother trying to make yourself look better while using the name ‘What A Loss’ or… 2) you have no sense of right or wrong so leaving the scene of a hit and run would be ok in your eyes.
Either way coming on here trying to make everyone’s opinion sound unfathomable but yours is not doing you any favors.
Your right, she is so thoughtful and caring that she fled and left her own baby to die in someone else’s arms, or all alone?!?!? She then sped home, to cover the vehicle and sober up. Just because it’s the first time you got caught, doesn’t mean it’s the first time you were guilty. THIS IS BEYOND WORDS…..
I doubt any of us will allow ourselves to be in this situation. If she’s innocent let her come out and say so.
I shall, one day, build a house of stones, so all can throw glass at it. Yet by the sea, you see, it’ll smooth the glass for me….penny~
If you are saying “don’t throw stones in a glass house”, that does NOT apply. This is not a simple mistake. Knowing that I would bleed myself dry for my child, how could a mother or brother run over her own child and another child and keep driving???????? What kind of person takes the time to hide the vehicle, cover with a tarp and then move 2 trucks in from of the gate?????? Doing this while innocent children lay in pain, suffering with their life slipping away. That child was probably thinking about their mother. Did she go back to scene? did she go to the hospital? This is not a simple mistake or a case of bad judgement. This whole situation makes me sick. I really need to step away from this. People victim blaming and sticking up for whoever did this is just disgusting. Completely gut wrenching disgusting people. Go back to your beer and pills and sleep this one off. The rest of us that have a conscious will work through it. My heart goes out to these families.
You don’t know all the facts. No one here does. Although you seem to think you do. Maybe you are right. You should just step away.
And why don’t we have all the facts? Because someone initiated a cover up.
she just saying how could someone just leave the girls?
Your right, I don’t have skeltons in my closet because I’ve never killed two kids.
This is the only place I could reply to “What A Loss”. Exactly what facts do I need to know? Who was actually driving the jeep? If it was someone else, all of my comment stands the same. Instead of her leaving the scene, she was covering up what had just happened. At this point know it was a jeep that killed the children and that jeep is owned by the mother of one of the deceased children. I know the jeep was purposefully hidden in a backyard, under a tarp. I know 2 innocent children were run over and killed by this same jeep. I know the jeep did not stop to help the 2 innocent children the had been mowed down. This much I know.
The Jeep was apparently hidden in a yard with trucks pulled in front of the fence by Officer Mays of the CHP told the Times Standard that it was not covered.
Well we didn’t hit and kill 2 children and drive away either!!!!
Skeletons in our closet??? Well I know I didn’t kill any of my children. And seriously I don’t care how awesome or wonderful anyone in this feed says she is or was. She killed 2 children and left the scene hid her vehicle while her daughter was dead in the street and the other child layed there dying all alone. And is she did it or her son did it they should if called the authorities immediately and stayed at the scene. So PLEASE any of you who want to go on and tell is we are awful blah blah please spare us. I can guarantee you that no one on this feed cares about how awesome this excuse for a person is. Oh yeah she/he will get her day in court great…the little girls will never see anything again. And thankfully I do not know her but my son knew her daughter for 8 years and he’s only thirteen. He is devastated as well as many.
I don’t care if you’ve known her for 50 years. Supposedly good people do ugly things. That doesn’t excuse what they did. At all. And just because you know a dozen people in Fortuna doesn’t mean you know all of them. Or have ever met them. Where I live is of no importance, and what I type is merely opinions, which I am entitled to. Sorry it bothers you so much. Perhaps quit reading them?
Killed two kids, tried to cover it up and you want us to act nice? Get real. If someone in my own family pulled such a stunt, I’d be the first to fry them for it. You just don’t do such things in “sunny”, “friendly” Fortuna.
The man wasn’t homeless. Your referring to Carley?
Whoever did this is getting a Hell of a lot more than six stinkin’ months.
R u talking about the man hit and killed near the Herrick Ave. Overpass, in April ???
If so,…. he was not homeless his name was Lathan Greensfelder and he was an amazing person and a very dear friend and loving brother to me and many others
He is also defending Kade Chandler whom killed to girls in a DUI in February 2015. How does this guy sleep at night? With all his blood money tucked carefully under his pillow……
Setting aside whether the defendant is guilty, our system of justice requires that there be someone to defend the accused. Some defense attorneys think of what they are doing as a sacred honor that protects the public from abuse by those in power.
Sorry Kym, but this guy is a piece of work. These types of defense attorneys are like the OJ attorneys, DUSGUSTING…..
These types of defense attorneys? Good, you mean? It’s a job everyone forgets is in the constitution.
He may be “good” or better, but why say the “driver” of the vehicle is willing to turn themself in when that hasn’t been proven? Would have been much better for defense to say “owner” of the vehicle.
Ms. Kemp, your bias is showing.
Oh, dear, what have I done now?
I think it’s just fine to have a bias towards due process.
Thanks for explaining basic american civics to the lynch mob, Kym, your statement was spot-on, and defense attorneys are hero’s/janitors more often than villains/accomplices, in my experiences…
I don’t think I made much inroads…
Kym, Many years ago when I lived in the Midwest a very good friend of mine was the Public Defender in Lake County,Ind. He was assigned the case for Alton Coleman and Debra Brown the couple who went on a multi state killing spree. I asked him how he could defend people like that. His simple answer was ” If they don’t deserve due process, no one does” It’s that simple. Keep doing what you’re doing. The masses will always shake their torches and pitchforks.
Your friend and I agree. Everyone needs due process because we all might need it. And, even more, society functions better holding the right people accountable.
There are good and bad attourneys. The ones that constantly take these kind of cases amaze me too. But the true test of character is how they defend their clients. I had to cut my own uncle out of my life when I found he was the kind of attorney that bashes the victim for becoming a stripper two years after his client allegedly beat and maced her. He also took a day off to cry about the serial killer he defended getting the death penalty, he should have been rejoicing since that guy was killing girls my age and stuffing them in suitcases, I never read that case because I knew he bashed those victims character too. Bashing a victim for unrelated legal activities is the lowest an attorney can go to defend a client, so I’d have to see this attorney in action before I could judge.
Oh I think Clanton is the master of setting free murderers in this county. You wanna walk for killin your kid? Hire this dirt bag, you will just get a slap on the wrist and it won’t even go to trial.
Do they leave the lawyer’s business cards scattered around the bars? Maybe tuck them under the wipers on cars in the parking lot. The clients seem to be really scraping the bottom of the barrel. By getting the consequences for these horrific crimes so reduced, it is sending a very bad message to our public right now. We have a little girl that thinks it’s okay to kill someone because “they’re just a bum.” Now we have a parent taking the life of a child running to that same lawyer and everyone already seems to feel that the same thing is going to happen. Just a little slap on the wrist and send them along home. This is becoming a trend, and it desperately needs to stop.
Seriously?! Then why hasn’t she done so already? She already left the scene of a crime.
YES the attorney said “her”. How could she leave those children there? Mother or not she deserves to rot in hell!!!
Probably because she was too intoxicated to and she knew she’d be at fault for it. But then again at the thought of hiding the vehicle sounds to me like it was a planned attack? Maybe the mother has some wierd desease kind of like post pardom to where she doesn’t want anything to do with her daughter hard to say not much we can think of until it all comes out in the news
REALLY?!?!?! A planned attack???? You people are the sick ones
If you want to get all indignant, why don’t you let the public in on what really happened? Leaving teenagers to die and covering it up is a fair sight worse that being mean on the internet.
So you can drool over the tabloid? Get a life. It’s none of your business. Move along. Always looking for a train wreck.
Your type makes me sick.
Cover-up of a double homicide is none of the public’s business? Seems like a pretty serious crime to me. “Move along, nothing to see here” doesn’t work on the internet. Google Streisand Effect.
No, really it’s none of your business. Why do you need to know? You want to know. Never said it was not a serious matter. What will you get out of knowing all the worst details of some else’s life that was just torn to pieces in one way, or another?
What is your benefit and what will you do with it?
This is not some private family matter. Two people were killed, those killings were covered up. These killings and their subsequent cover up are news and this is a news site. There is no expectation of privacy for homicide or hit and run. Trying to shame people for trying to figure out what is going on is totally pointless. No one would have to piece this story together bit by bit if certain shitbags hadn’t tried to cover up their crimes in the first place.
As far as I, John Q. Public, know, this lady is a MURDERER who is currently ON THE LOOSE. If you can shed light on what the heck she’s up to, that would help defuse the situation.
It is the community’s business. Think of the $$ spent looking for a murderer, the cost for our first responders and the effect it’s had on the community.
It is our business.
We’re gonna know anyway. Court proceedings are public record. Murder trials are news. Kym is a journalist, and she follows trials all the way to the verdict.
Somewhere between “all rise!” and “court is adjourned” all the dirty laundry will be aired here, on the other online news sites, and on channel 3.
We’ll know more than the dung maggot who did this would ever want us to. Does that make you uncomfortable?
A child murder is on the loose and its none of our business?
Listen Loss, my step children live in Loleta and have friends in Fortuna, who they visit all the time. On these visits, like normal teens do, they walk around IN FORTUNA. Not to mention the attend Fortuna High which is located in FORTUNA!! Now if I read all these horrible news updates there is a CHILD KILLER still on the loose, who likes to hit children with a 2 ton murder weapon, and flee the effin scene!! There for in order to protect my kids, this whole situation is my business, and every damn parents business from here to the moon and back!!
Let’s just be clear here: There is no expectation of privacy in this matter, not in the law and certainly not based on your demands and attempts to shame critics.
People were killed. It is our business now.
What the person involved is entitled to is her rights in a court of law. If this person did it, she should face the music.
And we have every right to know everything about it.
Never said there was any expectation of anything. Why is it your business? What good will it do you to know? I agree, when the person comes forward , AND when we know all the facts, that person should suffer all that can be thrown at them by our courts.
Yes you do have that right . Hopefully no details will be brought to the public until the case goes to court for verdict.
So tell me ‘What A Loss’ if this was YOUR daughter that this mother ran over and killed would you still be defending her? I’m curious to know if this mother played stupid when the cops knocked on her door to tell her her daughter had been involved in a hit and run. I wonder if her daughter was the one who was killed on the scene or if she was the one who was flown to the children’s hospital and died later. I would like to think that her daughter died instantly so she didn’t have time to think about how the car that hit them and kept on going was her mom’s jeep. Shame on her and shame on you for defending her actions. What is this world coming to?
Oh, but it is our business. When someone runs down two pedestrians and children, no less it becomes the entire communities business.
Really we are the “sick ones”. What kind of family member who hit the children, would not get out the truck and check the condition of the kids and phone the ambulance?
What kind of person would simply keep on driving, then assure the car is covered?
I never implied that the person who did this or were involved are not disturbed or sick. I never said you were a sick one. I said you make me sick. Try to keep up.
JT was responding to Peabody, not you.
What kind of disease is post pardom?
post partum is a depression after having a baby
Isn’t it munchhousin or something like that, where you hurt family for attention?
Imagine now if you will….that her son killed the two….and she is taking the blame. It may be possible… this is so depressing.
My daughter and I have a fall-back Plan: If one of us is in danger, the other will do “The Dance of the Dying Mother Quail,” and throw the threat off-track. It will give us time to regroup and plot the next course. Works well. af
My thoughts.
She’s not taking the blame, she’s running away, letting him take the blame. Totally opposite.
Assumption and rediculous speculation. Sign of a simple mind.
It’s not speculation that the cover-up of double homicide occurred, and that the murder weapon was found hidden at her house, registered in her name. It’s not speculation that she still hasn’t come forward using her own name.
Denial is not just a river. Projection is not just a booth at the theater.
My thought too…just very horrible no matter. But who ever it is should get 2 life sentences…or Death! Leaving your own daughter and her friend to die all alone in the dark of night…STUFF OF NIGHTMARES COMING TRUE!!! OR SISTER!!!
That was my thought, as well (about the brother, I mean).
I had this feeling also. I can see a mother doing this for her son. I cannot however believe that a mother could hit her daughter,drunk or not, and be able to drive away from their dying or badly hurt child.
I agree 100% how could a mother do that drunk or not I couldn’t!!
Um did you not read about the mother who shot and killed both of her daughters? Just because someone gives birth it doesn’t mean she’s a loving mom. People lose their sh*t sometimes due to illness,trauma, &/or meds.
I agree! I don’t think it was the mom. I know the attorney said “she” but he was just taking about his client. The mom could be talking to the lawer for her minor son. Hit and run is a drunk teen thing to do. Not a mother.. That’s just my option.
Jeez, this seems to be a popular speculation, based on absolutely no evidence. Does the Fortuna gossip circle know something I don’t? If she’s trying to take the blame for this thing, then why is she on the run not taking the blame for this thing? Double-triple-reverse psychology?
Um did you not read about the mother who shot and killed both of her daughters? Just because someone gives birth it doesn’t mean she’s a loving mom. People lose their sh*t sometimes due to illness &/or meds.
This “her taking the wrap for the teenage son” is a load of crap! Explain to me what difference it would make in the eyes of the police as to who was driving the vehicle if it was an accident? She must have put on an academy award winning performance when the police came to her door to break the news that her 14 year old daughter and her friend were just mowed down by a hit and run driver, when she had just finished hiding the vehicle in question.
Imagine, if you will, that whoever did this had the presence of mind to drive home, cover the vehicle and stay out of site until the alcohol left their system. Imagine that.
Then she is a bad mother and a liar. Teach your kid responsibility and honesty, if hes old enough to drive, kill his own sister and drive away then he’s old enough to wipe his own ass.
In my opinion, it takes a sick individual to follow up with these horrific actions by getting a lawyer. Really? If I did this to my child, the very last thing on my mind would be a lawyer. Thats just me.
Notice who she hired? I doubt this guy was a family “friend” until now. I’ll put money on her considering this guy based on work in previous local cases and thought, “I have a solid chance of only doing 4 years and not 40 if I give this guy a call”
From what I hear, The brother Hit the kids “on accident”, No booze! and the mom is trying to take the rap to protect her son.
The Sad part is Marci lost her sister to a drunk driver over 20 years ago.
WTF are you talking about? She isn’t taking the rap for anything, she’s in hiding.
“In hiding” and going through an attorney isn’t protecting someone other than yourself.
Don’t you think it makes more sense that the 16 yr old son (inexperienced driver) did it, went home and told mom and mom is protecting him? The police said to not come in yet because they are looking for evidence so that they arrest the right person.
North Coast Journal: “We offered to turn the driver in,” Okin continued, “but law enforcement wants to do some more investigation before they make a formal arrest.”
Her lawyer said that, not the police. I’m sure the police would not mind if she turned herself in.
Let’s suppose you are a kid whose sister is dead and whose family vehicle hit her and the driver of which is likely someone you know and love. Now suppose how you would feel if people started saying you might have been the driver. Please. This isn’t a tv show with a mystery to solve. This is some real kid just a few years older than mine. Take a moment and imagine his pain.
As much as possible, let’s try to heal our community and help us find ways to be better.
Kym, my admiration for you is boundless, and you have my sympathy, too. af
Thank you
My heart breaks for everyone. This is a tragedy that effects not just the family but the community as well. As a mother myself of a daughter just two years younger than these two girls it just saddened me even more.
My respect for you, despite disagreeing with you on other stances, just jumped up a bunch after reading your insightful comment, Kym. Speculation by armchair commenters are bringing NOTHING to the table and don’t amount to a fart in a whirlwind anyway. Ssh, people.
Agreed. People in here questioning why she would get an attorney while at the same time in their posts already convicting her and hanging her in the public square with only a few facts, no trial and buckets worth of opinions. They used to try witches using the same process.
They used to try witches on internet forums by hurting their feelings?
Only in Silicon Valley.
Yes, back when the internet was made of wood and the trolls made of iron.
I thank you for your remark. I have not visited Kim’s sight until this story broke. This thread is not a very nice one. Most of the comments are full of speculation and prejudgment. This is horrible. Kym, thanks for keeping it as real as you can, and not personally speculating or giving unconfirmed information.
And for those of you that read this, I think the driver and anyone involved should bear the weight of their actions in a court of law where all the facts will be laid out before making judgement.
The only person keeping justice from being served in a court of law is the cowardly driver and anyone providing them refuge from the law.
This story is more interesting than any movie or book I have read. You can’t write something like this.
Well said, thank you
Hear! Hear!
What mom would protect her son if he had just killed her daughter? What kind of a monster is she? Is she protecting him so he can be let loose on the rest of us while she does his time?
If he is a minor he would do a lot less time than she would.
Okay then…what if son comes home…Mom knows he has been in an accident (as evidenced by the vehicle) and Mom proceeds to cover for her son not knowing he has killed his sister and her friend? What if Mom came home with extreme damage to her vehicle and her son decided to try and cover for his Mom not knowing who or what she had hit? What if, what if??? Really…known of us really know but a mother’s instinct to protect all of her children is unconditional and often a child’s desire to protect their parent is instinct…I cannot imagine the emotional state and shock of the family…give it a break…all of you claiming what you would do in this situation are buffoons. I pray none of us ever have to know this families pain…right, wrong, or indifferent…we truly cannot claim to know.
People keep bringing this up as if it makes the situation less morally reprehensible. Doesn’t change the fact that YOU CAN’T JUST KILL PEOPLE AND TRY TO COVER IT UP.
No one one this thread implied that what happened was not morally reprehensible. Maybe you need to go back and read the thread. You want the gore, all the grisly details. Try if you can, to look at the whole of the situation rather than what you want to see.
Where does it say anyone wants gore? I want the driver to do what she should’ve done 3 days ago and turn herself in.
No matter who “did it”, this is a terrible tragedy; two family’s lives are ruined forever. Today, as I write, a service for Faith is being held. Perhaps there is an understanding that at service ‘s completion, all culpable parties surrender immediately, coming clean in the process and accepting the consequences.
Fleeimg the scene, leaving them for dead, and then lawyering up
This is like a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions.
A woman loses one of her two teenage daughters, tragically killed by a drunk driver.
The surviving daughter grows up, becomes a mother herself, and has a son and daughter of her own.
22 years after the death of her daughter, the woman, now a grandmother, loses her teenage granddaughter to a drunk driver…
Then, we learn that this time the drunk driver was the surviving daughter: the sister of the daughter killed two decades ago, and the mother of the daughter killed two days ago.
A family is forever shattered.
Your story is fiction. You don’t know the facts.
Thus the claim of a “tragedy of Shakespearean proportions”. We may not know all the fact right now. We sure as hell will later.
We hope.
Not fiction. Fact. I know these people. 22 years ago, I lost one of my best friends to a drunk driver, the same girl mentioned above. I remember everything. This is a horrible tragedy that cannot be undone. I hope that this family can be healed after all they have been through. When her sister died, she died that day too, and she has been ever changed, ever affected. And now this. A culmination of awful choices and unspeakable events.. so sad.
Fiction? You may want to check your local history.
Here are the facts many of us who grew up with JS & MS know…
Fact: In June of 1994 JS, daughter of PS, sister of M(S)K was tragically killed, in a car crash involving a drunk driver.
Fact: M(S)K grew up, became a mother, and had a son and daughter, KK. These are the grandchildren of PS.
Fact: 22 years after the death of her daughter JS, PS has now lost her granddaughter, KK.
Fact: 22 years after the death of her sister JS, M(S)K has now lost her daughter.
Fact: The granddaughter, KK, was killed when she was hit and run over by a vehicle.
Fact: The driver of the vehicle left the scene.
Fact: The vehicle that killed KK is owned by M(S)K, and was found hidden, in the back yard of the home owned by M(S)K.
Fact: Law enforcement has stated that they have a suspect.
Fact: An attorney has stepped forward, stating that he represents the suspect–using a female pronoun, and that the suspect provided law enforcement with keys to the home, where the vehicle was found. This is the home owned by M(S)K.
Fact: Two generations of young women, from one family, were tragically killed–as teenagers–by “auto collisions”/”car crashes”/”vehicle crimes”…
Opinion: The details are slowly unravelling like a Shakespearean or Greek tragedy.
Opinion: This family has had more than its fair share of heartache, no family deserves this much.
Opinion: This family has been shattered.
Opinion: This is a tragedy for the entire community.
The only facts we don’t know for certain YET are two variables: whether or not M(S)K was driving (though it is customary for one to drive their own vehicle) and whether or not the driver was under the influence. The facts point in the direction of these variables being true.
There’s an expression: when you hear hoofbeats, think of horses not zebras.
The one thing we may never learn the truth of is WHY…why didn’t the driver stop?
Most importantly, the community needs to come together and support the families of both girls.
Thanks for that. All true. I met JSS the day she moved here, and she will always be my friend. So will M(S)K, I just saw her and had a long talk with her at Blue Lake Casino about JS and our past a few weeks ago. We talked about our kids, hers and mine, (I have teenage daughters) and she loved her children more than anything. Can’t imagine how she and JK are feeling right now, I hope she is being watched and is safe, no more tragedy! No more loss! I hope PS and B are ok. I can’t believe it still. I love this family, I’m heartbroken as are so many of our friends. RIP girls.
Thanks, to you, for the backup and support. This most recent horrific and heartbreaking event brought back memories of the friends we lost, and the many teenagers in the county that were killed, back in the years when we were in high school. It was only the summer before JS died, less than a full year before, that M. Kelley was killed. And there would be more in the years that followed. Over two decades later, it remains a regional crisis that seems to continue with no end in sight.
My main, and original point, was that the whole story, when looked at in its entirety, is such an epic, multi-generational, family tragedy that it resembles something out of classic literature–in the worst, unimaginable, way possible. This shouldn’t happen to anyone, let alone one family. It is a “tragedy of Shakespearean proportions”.
M(S)K’s daughter is gone forever, and neither she, nor JK, JK, PS, B, or anyone in that family, will ever “get over” it, regardless of whether or not she was the driver.
Compassion and a desire for justice are not mutually exclusive. Having compassion and empathy for her pain does not mean that one is excusing the actions of the driver of her vehicle.
Wanting justice for the two girls who lost their lives does not mean that one cannot have compassion and empathy for every single member of their families, even if the deaths were caused by one of those family members.
So much of Fortuna’s strength comes from the tight knit community, and the community should come together to support these families.
Beautifully said.
PLEASE STOP BRINGING UP AN INCIDENT THAT HAPPENED 22 YEARS AGO. I have to look at the scar on my face and remember it everyday. To have people that know nothing about the accident talking like they were there. I was there!! I was sitting behind Jamie. The driver of the other car was on Meth, he was not drunk.
What really sucks is we just delt with bullock ,and this horrible thing happens what’s next ?
How did “we” deal with bullock? Why is this considered everyones drama? Just curious….such a terrible tragedy.
They were random acts of violence that could have happened to anyone in the community.
You folks are playing a public guessing game with these people’s pain. Go add a mystery solving app to your phone and shut the hell up. The names of the person/persons responsible will be known soon enough. The family and friends of these girls do not need your opinions or guesses. They are living it. Have some respect. If what you are saying doesn’t benefit them in some way, don’t say it. Especially in a public forum. Read the news and shush.
If the family was worried about people speculating online, they could release a public statement about the two-ton murder weapon someone hid in their back yard.
Agreed!!
I agree 100%..I am so sick of others say “oh poor mom and poor son that could have possibly done this” but what about the 2 girls that were left alone in the street like as if they were trash..I am sorry but there is nothing poor about either of them or whoever did this..I hope whoever is responsible pays dearly for this horrific act..iam sorry but if you can think clear enough to drive home, hide and tarp the vehicle and park 2 trucks in front of the fence and go on about your evening you are nothing more than a POS and deserve nothing..sorry to respond under your post with my anger but your post is one I agree with so much..I hope the person/people involved all fry in HELL!!!!
Don’t read comment sections then as no good will come from it.
Sorry, Amy. Speculating and venting among ourselves is a pressure-relief valve for our community. It’s a good thing. If you disagree, perhaps YOU should be getting your news somewhere else…af
You all can play the what if game , but all u are doing is starting unnecessary dram. As a mother my self I could not imagine losing a child nor two. Take a minute to really think about that……to all u unsensitve mindless people with nothing better to do then point fingers and bash whom ever u THINK is at fault with no legible backing go play Clue.
I don’t see any harm in people trying to aggregate all of these disparate facts into a cohesive narrative. The “dram” already happened. What are these forums for if not discussion of a news story?
Everyone can see you don’t see the harm. Some people are just like that. That is why they put those magazines by the check out stand at the grocery store.
Then quit reading the comments, J. If we want to sit around and talk about current events, either here or at Starbucks or making smores around a campfire, we will. Posters are not breaking any laws by having open discussions about it.
So this person thinks it’s better to run and lawyer up?
What scum we have living among us these days.
Too intoxicated to stop?
Or car full of dope?
This person is hopefully going to get locked up for at least two consecutive life sentences.
And another twenty years for running, and another life sentence for thinking it’s best to get a lawyer instead of help for the ones injured.
These sort of people are the stain in the north coast underpants!
It seems that hit and run home to sober up is the new way to handle these events. Now we have a family member who’s done it. Society has completely lost it’s moral compass.
it says that they are waiting to be taken by the law so there was two people in the this matter read what the lawer says
He may have been using “they” as a gender-neutral pronoun. He slipped up and said “she” later. Either way, I don’t believe for a second that the cops told her not to turn herself in.
We might not know enough to convict anyone, but we are not a court of law, we have no rules or guidelines to follow, this is an active investigation we are conducting and in time we will get to the bottom of this in the meantime please excuse us while we tighten the wringer on her tit.
Having had my husband killed via vehicular manslaughter, I will hazard the guess that most folks are blissfully unaware that in the absence of being able prove intoxication that it is an EFFing misdemeanor. I am not convinced, due to my own experience and meeting others with my experience, that the felony hit and run portion would actually stick because cases like this generally plea bargain.
The family generally goes through living hell having to revisit the death repeatedly all for naught. At the end of the day, I was given a boo hoo story by the DA about how my husband’s killer felt really bad and had suffered enough simply through the process. I have seen this scenario play out repeatedly for others.
I’ve got nothing, but prayers, love and light for the innocents <3
Been there done that. The hit and run poses a problem. I firmly believe if you leave the scene of an accident and don’t report then it should be assumed you are waiting to sober up. This cannot be allowed to keep happening! People are dying in the road because the drivers choose themselves over doing the right thing. Automatic DUI if you flee the scene.
Hate to remind you of this…but prayers and love are there really is for grieving families. Be grateful you had that support. Besides…it isn’t about YOU it is about penalties determined by our judicial system. I am so sorry for your loss but justice is not about what you think YOU deserve.
You don’t believe that justice is sometimes something you must fight for?
I just can’t imagine the pain, heartbreak and sorrow that this tragedy will continue to affect our community, loved ones and friends for many years to come. Maybe not now, but soon – I think we should start a dialogue about a permanent memorial being placed in that area. 💔
Whoever the driver, you took a tragedy and turned it into a heinous crime. No explanation is good enough
People please, the facts we know can be talked about all day long, but the rumors and speculation should stop. Wait till the facts come out. All that should be on everyone’s mind is the tragic loss of 2 young lives and all the people (friends and family) who will forever grieve for these lost lives.
Like it or not, a crime doesn’t get covered up “by accident.” The very reason that people are speculating is that some shitbag or shitbags tried to cover up a vehicular homicide. They did this in order to get away with it, the same reason any criminal covers up a crime. These are indisputable facts.
Hit and Run is a crime and someone will pay whatever sentence the courts hand down. Whoever did this mother/brother/sister/father/friend/stranger will have to live with this the rest of their lives. That is a worse sentence than any court could hand out. No excuse for hit and run, but dusk is a time of day that I hate to drive. I don’t know how many deer I have almost hit when the light is still strong enough that headlights don’t make much difference in seeing more than 10-20 feet in front of you. I have almost hit people at dusk. TG, I never had to deal with that sad fate. I will pray for all those involved as well as the community at large. This is tragic no matter what. Whoever did this gets to live in their own hell. RIP to the girls taken from the world too soon.
No, it is not worse. They can run concurrently and should in my opinion.
And we the people are supposed to believe Mr. Okin’s statement, that the police don’t want her to turn herself in until they have more time to investigate. REALLY Mr. Okin?? You appall me!!!
He’s a defense attorney. His job is to defend people. I don’t believe his carefully worded statement about the police not wanting his client to turn herself in yet, but that’s his job and I’m sure it technically stops just short of being a lie.
What difference will it make or does it make? It doesn’t.
I’m afraid I don’t understand the question. What difference does what make?
Man, oh man, oh man.
Let us all have mercy on this poor person for the next couple of weeks. If things are the way they seem to be, she is gonna need some time to take care of things she probably never thought she would ever have to take care of.
After all, in the cruelest of ways, justice has in a way already been served in a most horrifying way. Trials and incarceration, in my opinion, can wait a bit.
For, after all, they are no doubt going to come.
(*please note this is all my personal POV/theory, having read the CHP’s advice to ‘find a designated driver’ and going off of what’s been reported)
Wasn’t going to get involved, but feel compelled. I haven’t stopped thinking about this since I got the text from a family member immediately following the incident. Primarily because it reminded me of how utterly lucky I am to have never found myself in a similar situation. I cannot tell you the number of times I have driven in a blackout throughout my 20’s. I have nearly 7 years of continued sobriety without a drink or a drug now. But that was hardly the case. Growing up, I was ‘the’ perfect kid. Student body president, percussion in a Christian rock band, captain of every sports team, as well as severe poor body image and an alcoholic mother. Instead of heading off to Stanford University, I stumbled into meth: the miracle weight loss drug. A year after that, without knowing what ‘alcoholism’ was, and that my mother wasn’t a bad person who needed to get good, but rather a sick person who needed to get well, I followed right into her foot steps. After experiencing a rape by my boxing trainer Robert Ross of Arcata, I spent the next 7 years in a blackout drunk.
Today, I can easily say, I am a goddamn good person with a heart of gold. I’ve spent the past 6 years doing everything that I can to create social change. Programs that empower teenage girls from eating disorders, drug abuse, sexual assault, self harm, and bullying (Kamp Konfidence). Programs of health and fitness. Things that educate and empower. Created communities of like-minded, supportive people- all in the name of prevention.
But none of this would have happened had I not hit many rock bottoms like the person who has committed this crime. Granted, I never had a rock bottom like this, but nonetheless.
Alcohol (and drugs- aside from weed- in my experience), causes people to operate from the depths of hell.
At this stage, instead of pointing fingers and spending time judging people, why not focus on prevention. Why not focus on how we can improve and strengthen our community so the same tragedy doesn’t repeat itself. Look at drug and alcohol education that is dissonance based (D.A.R.E. is pathetic), and simple awareness around what the dis-ease even is, and how it’s developed, is a good place to start. Also awareness around where people can turn to before they have to hit rock bottom from an event like this.
It bothers me that a majority of the population doesn’t realise that the “ism” of alcohol isn’t a matter of will power. If you knew the alleged, you’d know that she has a good heart and wanted to do everything for her children. For any mother to flee the scene, one would have to be out of their mind. And that is what alcohol does- Takes you out of your mind and into another realm. I believe it’s safe to say that she isn’t a bad person who needs to get good, but rather a sick person who needs to get well. And now she will spend the rest of her life doing just that (we hope), and potentially have the opportunity to create massive social change. I do imagine it will be that much more difficult to facilitate that process with all the added hate and guilt from complete strangers who have not a clue what it’s like to be caught in the grips of addiction or alcoholism.
I’m not religious, but I pray for the whole of the world. Nearly every corner of the fabric of society is affected when alcoholism tears through it.
and PS- please refrain from commenting on my grammar. the earlier comments on Kym’s, show that there are a lot of trolls sitting around with their d*ck in their hand. I’m here to spread love throughout humboldt county because I’m tired of watching our beautiful home, “God’s country”, be overran by meth and crime, and refuse to sit back and be a keyboard warrior, adding nothing to a solution.
Cheers
She’s an alcoholic on meth?
Where was that said? Comprehend much?
“caught in the grips of addiction or alcoholism”,
“Alcohol (and drugs”,
“Look at drug and alcohol education”,
“to flee the scene, one would have to be out of their mind. And that is what alcohol does”
She was not talking about the driver or the mother. She was talking about herself.
Oh, they’re just trying to make sense of the lawyer’s grammar, which he probably left vague on purpose. Good post, alcohol is in many ways the worst of all drugs.
Lets start by getting this person off the streets so everyone’s kids are safer!
Here is the deal, if everyone took responsibility for their actions , there would be no need for lawyers and courts. What a ..cking concept!
what a sick lot most of you are. very personal tragedy of the worst kind. leave them alone and love your own.
On the contrary, this is a very public tragedy. Two people are dead and as far as we know the killer is still at large. Until that person is captured, all we really know is that there is a killer on the loose.
theres nothing you can do about it at this point. get a life.
Do you only stay informed about the murderers that you can personally stop?
a life. get one.
The real crime is internet bullying fugitive murderers.
I wonder what Ernie branscomb has to sat about this I’m surprised that he has not commented on this tragedy .he always has a way of putting things .
Word on the street says she was at the Rodeo hammered drunk!!!! Enough said…..
I get the fight or flight psychology. None of us can say how we would react in any situation until we’ve lived it. There are a lot of cases of hit and run, where given time to process what has happened, the driver has turned themselves in. Are there any moms out there who upon hearing your child was mowed down by you and badly hurt that would turn themselves in right there? Knowing you’d go directly to jail and wouldn’t be there for your injured child? Right or wrong, upon being notified she stayed with her daughter until the end and then contacted an attorney and offered to turn herself in. Its easy to sit on our asses judging others, but until you’ve been there, you don’t know what you’d do. And no,I don’t know either family, but my heartfelt condolences go out to all of them.
“I don’t know either family”, but you some how know she stayed with the daughter??? Was this after she hid the jeep and moved two trucks in front of the gate?
Because it has been in news reports that she flew to Oakland with her daughter. Her daughter died at 6:30 the next morning. Mom got an attorney that morning and contacted LE.
Hiding the jeep, while wrong and illegal could very well be a part of the flight or fight response some humans experience. I’m not saying the driver is innocent. Just that I can understand the psychology of flight and wanting to be with your child when you find out she was victim of this tragedy and is badly injured. Looking through my rose colored glasses, I’d like to think she would have turned herself in once she’d had time to process the situation. You can look through whatever glasses you want, I just choose to try and see the best in people, to not judge when I haven’t experienced something myself and to wait for all the facts.
Why was there a manhunt afterwards? Can you cite a link?
http://www.northcoastjournal.com/NewsBlog/archives/2016/07/14/suspect-identified-vehicle-located-in-double-fatal-fortuna-hit-and-run
According the CHP, the suspect is still at large. Only the driver’s lawyer claims she offered to turn herself in, CHP disagrees.
Ok time to move on, who ever did it will get around 7 years, with time served and early release, probably spend 3-5 years in jail.
Please stop talking about the accident that happened 22 years ago. None of you know the facts. I DO, I was there. I was in a coma for 4 days. I can tell you that no one and I repeat no one in the car I was in was drunk or on drugs. The guys in the other car were in fact on meth going 100+ miles an hour on a two lane road “swerved to miss a deer,” and ran into our car sending us 15 feet back and down a 10 foot ditch.
I am so sickened by all your speculations!!!! Get over it, get over yourself. STOP SPECULATING, STOP BEING A TROLL. People are dead and no one knows the real story except who ever is involved. Everyone just needs to love, send prayers and positive thoughts.
Let’s everybody just get over this unsolved double-homicide, okay?! It’s a personal matter, between the murder and the murderees!
Yes, I agree. Many are acting like a rabid pack of coyotes. I say focus on your own life, and send thoughts and prayers to those involved.
I agree with you, Karie, and I’m sorry for your pain. For some reason, the worst in people comes out on these blogs. It makes me dispair for my fellow humans.
I’m appalled! Am I missing something here? After skimming 200+ comments, where is any thought, compassion, or even a description about the dead 14 year-old that also died so tragically? Did she have a family, is she being grieved? Was she skateboarding along with her friend, smiling on a summer evening in the “friendly city” of Fortuna anticipating high school in a few weeks – when instantly her life was wiped out? My mind is boggled at all of it. So sad.
Tragedy Repeated, Eileen McCready, Karen and KO had very nice posts.
None of us know if it was mom or son, but either way, no matter how much time the one who hit those girls are sentenced to, they will live with the pain of what they did for their whole life. I’m sure the sentence they give themselves will be harsher than they will receive in a court of law. I’m so tired all the rumors and speculations. Quit the guessing game. Please. Wait for the facts to come out. Everyone is entitled to feel how they choose about this TRAGIC accident, but people geez, they will have their day in court.
http://kiem-tv.com/video/supect-identifed-fatal-hit-and-run-whereabouts-unknown
If I read correct, as of early-afternoon, the suspect was known to the CHP, but the CHP does not know the suspect’s whereabouts……
The CHP knew that the mother was flown to Oakland. They knew her child died at 6:30 am. and that she was at the hospital for some time after that. They knew she was being driven back from Oakland to Fortuna, a six hour drive. To say that they didn’t know exactly where she was was misleading.
Where did you get that information? CHP clearly says that they don’t know where she is right now. She wasn’t at her house when they executed their warrant. They probably didn’t suspect her of anything yet while she was in Oakland, so they wouldn’t have been tracking her. She (or someone) did attempt to cover up the homicides, after all.
Does anyone know who called 911?
There was a post for LOCO/Channel 3 news last nightvthat the CHP said they have the name of the suspect but have no idea of their whereabouts and that the CHP wants to speak to the person. Maybe not word for word but that’s basically the just of the post. Sooooo…why do they not have an arrest warrant out? Something is not right with all this. Why is nothing being done????
I don’t think that they have to make arrest warrants public, so maybe they’re still trying to locate the driver. It does put the lie to the lawyer’s assertion that the driver offered to turn herself in.
I hope whomever is assisting her flight from justice is prosecuted as well. The Fortucky good-ol-boy’s network has a way of sweeping serious crimes under the rug when its one of their own committing them. DUI is their official passtime.
Chp has been heavy in fortuna last two days, wonder why?
rodeo might be why.
Anyone considered it wasn’t her or her son. Yep that’s right folks. Who’s truck is that blocking the gate?? Not naming names but damn that’s messed up bro …
Cool story bro
Questions:
1 If indeed the person who killed the two girls, “thought that they ran over a deer” and made it home drunk: Did they or did someone else in their home proceed with the coverup?
2 How if she was Drunk did the helicopter’s crew allow her to board the aircraft?
3 I assume that their counsel has advised them not to turn on their “smart phones” let alone communicate with anyone via their “smart phones”: Question if they have their phones on can they be tracked?
4 and after all of this: Couldn’t she/he go on a “justified” bender and completely change any or all existing or original evidence?
Garbornriginal ~ Can you explain to me what a “justified” bender is?? please……
For God’s sake,she rode to Oakland,watched her daughter die,now We Need Justice for these girls!!The corruption in Humboldt is no new story!
The FBI NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT IN TO SEEK THE MURDERER AND JUSTICE FOR THE MURDERED AND IF LIFE BEHIND BARS IS NOT WHAT THE SENTENCE HANDED. DOWN BY THE COURTS TURNS OUT TO BE THEN WE AS A COMMUNITY WILL DELIVER IT!
You cannot run down a dog and get away like that….ARREST SOMEONE AND LETS GET THIS THING OVER!
extremely drunk when she left the club. someone else driving? how did the vehicle get back to the parking place if she was going to oakland? did she suffer a black-out, doesn’t know what happened, has someone convinced her she did it? someone she trusts, or thought she could trust?