Two Deceased Persons Found on the Side of the Road
Suspected Impaired Driver Located and Arrested for Vehicular Homicide and Hit/Run Collision
Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputies and Traffic Unit Investigators responded to a hit-and-run crash scene where two adult pedestrians were found deceased on the side of the road. Approximately 40 minutes later, the suspected impaired driver and her heavily damaged vehicle were located in the area. The adult female suspect was arrested and charged with two counts of Vehicular Homicide and two counts of Hit/Run.
On April 29, 2023, at approximately 11:45 pm, Spokane County Deputies responded to a citizen’s report of a female lying in the ditch adjacent to W. Trails Road, just east of N. Flint Road. Spokane County Fire personnel arrived first and located the female and a male; both appeared to be adults and were deceased.
Deputies began the investigation and closed the roadway. They located tire marks on the soft shoulder of the roadway and vehicle crash debris, including a WA license plate. Due to the serious nature of this incident and the death of two people, Traffic Unit Investigators were called to assist. SIRT Volunteers also responded to help with traffic control.
Approximately 40 minutes later (12:25 am), a second caller reported a dark-colored pickup truck in a ditch with front-end damage on N. Old Trails Road just south of W. Trails Road. A Deputy responded to the scene, located the GMC pickup truck, and contacted the adult female driver, 29-year-old Megan Skillingstad, who appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. The damage to the front of the truck was consistent with the known collision information, and the truck’s license plate matched the one found at the crash scene.
The preliminary investigation indicates the truck was traveling west on W. Trails Road as it approached a slight curve to the left at N. Flint Road. The driver of the vehicle, Skillingstad, was unable to negotiate the curve, left the road and struck the two pedestrian victims, either in the ditch or along the edge of the roadway and continued, striking several fence posts before coming to a stop. Skillingstad managed to get back onto the road and fled the scene eastbound, leaving a license plate and a trail of vehicle fluids. She turned off W. Trails Road onto N. Old Trails Road, about a half-mile away, and parked until Deputies contacted her.
Skillingstad consented to field sobriety evaluations and was later arrested for two counts of Vehicular Homicide and two counts of Hit/Run. A search warrant was granted, and a sample of Skillingstad’s blood was obtained for later testing. Skillingstad was transported and booked into the Spokane County Jail for the four felony charges.
Investigators thank the two callers for reporting the initial scene, the suspect, and her vehicle's location. Without their assistance, the suspect may not have been immediately located, and valuable evidence could have been lost or destroyed.
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