A driver accused of running over a man on the highway in Coupeville in 2024 is now facing a felony charge, according to court documents.
Prosecutors charged 52-year-old Daniel E. Geer in Island County Superior Court Jan. 14 with felony hit and run. If convicted of the charge, he could face from three to four years in prison under the standard sentencing range.
A report by Deputy Robert Mirabal with the Island County Sheriff’s Office states that a car struck 66-year-old James Richard Otis, a homeless man, on Highway 20 about 450 feet yards east of the Coupeville pedestrian overpass on April 25, 2024.
A woman who was driving by saw Otis lying on the ground on the side of the highway with car parts around him. She called 911 and the deputy arrived within a minute and found Otis, who raised his head but appeared to be severely injured, with a disfigured hip and a leg that was unnaturally angled from his body. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
A video obtained by police showed that Otis lay on the side of the road for about 12 minutes from the time he got struck until the deputy arrived, according to the deputy’s report.
The deputy noted that the impact occurred more than a foot within the lane of traffic. He found a plastic “fender well” next to Otis and took it into evidence.
The deputy notified the Washington State Patrol that the car-versus-pedestrian accident was likely going to be a fatality; the State Patrol, however, reported that a trooper was not going to respond and that a collision technician would not be called out to investigate, the report states. As a result, Mirabal conducted the collision investigation.
The report states that deputies were familiar with Otis, who was homeless and living in the Oak Harbor area. On the day before the fatal collision, he was struck by a car going about 2 mph as it was inching forward to make a turn; he was not injured, the report states. He went to WhidbeyHealth ER later that day, was diagnosed with cellulitis on both feet and was discharged just before midnight. He was struck walking on the highway about an hour later, the report states.
A detective obtained security camera video from the nearby gas station. The video showed a vehicle striking Otis.
“The impact was large enough to lift the passenger side of the car off the ground as it drove over,” a detective wrote. “The vehicle did not stop.”
Investigators were able to identify the fender part left at the scene as belonging to a 2001 Suzuki Vitara model. They were able to locate six of the cars on Whidbey Island and found one parked at a Nimitz Drive home with a missing fender part and other front-end damage, the report states.
Deputies obtained a search warrant and seized the vehicle.
A resident of the house identified Geer as the owner of the car. The detectives left messages at the phone numbers for Geer, but he did not respond, the report states. Detectives went to his place of work in La Conner and contacted him; he agreed to come in for an interview a few days later, the report states.
The police report filed in the court case doesn’t include information from the interview and doesn’t indicate whether Geer realized he struck a person, the report states.
Geer could not be reached for comment. The phone number listed in court documents was not active.
Under the definition of felony hit and run, Geer is accused of knowingly being involved in an accident resulting in the death of another person while driving and failing to follow certain duties, including immediately stopping and rendering assistance.
