Driver Plead Not Guilty and Did Not Appear in Court Wednesday
Shantel Witt, 41, is accused of hitting 38-year-old Marika Stone of Bend with her pickup truck as Stone was cycling with two other people in late December. Stone died of her injuries.
Witt was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday and friends, family and local cyclists filled the courtroom to support the Stone family. However, just before 9 a.m. it was announced to the packed courtroom that Witt’s case would not be called.
Witt entered a plea of not guilty out of court and Deschutes County Court scheduled Witt’s trial for January 29, 2019.
During Witt’s January hearing, deputy district attorney Kari Hathorn said Witt had briefly drove off after hitting Stone but returned to the scene to yell at Stone’s surviving companions.
Witt also failed three field sobriety tests at the scene and acknowledged to officers that she took painkillers and muscle relaxers, according to court records. Officers found empty beer cans, prescription drugs and a 9mm pistol in her vehicle.