ARLINGTON — Nearly two dozen roses were nestled into crosswalk buttons late Thursday at the intersection of 204th Street NE and Highway 9.
Just after 2:30 a.m. that morning, a suspected drunken driver killed two pedestrians just south of the traffic lights, according to police. Elliott Bagley, 28, was arrested for investigation of two counts of vehicular homicide and driving under the influence.
The deceased were identified as Tausha Schmidt and Justin Wilkerson, both of Arlington. They died of blunt force injuries, according to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Both were 39.
The Stanwood man was in the Snohomish County Jail in Everett on $500,000 bail. Bagley appeared at a court hearing Friday afternoon via video conference wearing his jail uniform.
“Your honor, two people are dead,” deputy prosecutor Bob Hendrix told Everett District Court Judge Tam Bui in the hearing. “We believe that significantly explains the danger that he presents to the community.”
A public defender argued for $20,000 bail or less, noting Bagley has no criminal history.
In setting the amount requested by Hendrix, Bui took into account the “extreme seriousness of the allegations.”
When Arlington police arrived at the scene Thursday morning, officers reportedly found the two victims 100 to 200 feet apart, according to a police report. Bagley’s car was sitting in the northbound lane. The car had “heavy front-end damage” and its hazard lights were blinking.
As an officer approached him, Bagley raised his arms up “as if he was surrendering to me,” according to the police report. The officer asked if Bagley was involved in the collision.
“I think so,” he reportedly responded.
Bagley told the officer he was driving and he thought he hit someone or something, according to police. The 2021 Chevy Malibu was an Enterprise rental, he reported, because his own was in the shop. Bagley reportedly said he had a couple drinks. An officer reported smelling alcohol and said Bagley’s eyes appeared “glassy.”
Just after that, the victims were pronounced dead.
Bagley then agreed to sobriety tests. He reportedly asked the officer what would happen if he said no. The officer explained the tests were voluntary. Bagley changed his response a couple times, according to police. He said he didn’t want to do them, then quickly changed his mind and again said he would do them.
The officer confirmed with Bagley that he was willing to complete the sobriety tests. He said no again, according to police. The officer gave the Stanwood man another chance. For the final time, Bagley reportedly said no.
Police then arrested him. When an officer later explained the possible charges, Bagley didn’t appear to react, according to the police report.
In a police interview, Bagley reportedly said he’d had two IPAs from a Burlington tavern, about 27 miles north of the crash scene. He reported he was driving to Lake Stevens.
He told police he’d had a green light and was traveling 45 to 50 mph before the crash.
Bagley was then taken to the police station, where an officer got a warrant to draw the suspect’s blood. Police took him to Cascade Valley Hospital for the blood draw.
Jake Goldstein-Street:
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