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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024

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Driver gets max in June 7 fatal hit-run

Judge adds to penalty that state requested after family speaks

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Luka Tapuaialupe makes his first appearance in Clark County Superior Court June 9 on suspicion of vehicular homicide and felony hit and run in connection with the death of Greg Thorkildson, 40.
Luka Tapuaialupe makes his first appearance in Clark County Superior Court June 9 on suspicion of vehicular homicide and felony hit and run in connection with the death of Greg Thorkildson, 40. Photo Gallery

Jennifer Wade and the “love of her life,” Greg Thorkildson, were holding hands, laughing and having a great time when they met Wade’s sister for dinner June 7 at a local restaurant.

“After dinner, we headed home, which is the last thing I remember of that night,” Wade said. “The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital asking for Greg and being told that we were in an accident, and that he did not survive the accident.”

Luka I. Tapuaialupe, 30, of Vancouver was sentenced Friday to 5½ years in prison for negligently causing the vehicle crash June 7 that killed Thorkildson, 40, and then fleeing the scene on foot. Wade, 37, was seriously injured in the collision.

Tapuaialupe had been drinking and taking marijuana before he sat behind the wheel of his brown 1986 Ford Bronco, which had defective brakes, and drove through Vancouver with a suspended driver’s license.

Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Vu said Tapuaialupe knew his brakes were defective; detectives later found an empty brake fluid bottle inside his vehicle.

The Bronco was traveling south on Northeast 29th Avenue at about 50 mph in a 20 mph zone when it collided with the driver’s side of Thorkildson’s green Chevrolet Impala, killing Thorkildson instantly, Vu said. Tapuaialupe’s attorney, Sean Downs, argued that the speed limit is 30 to 35 mph at that intersection.

After the crash, Tapuaialupe and his passenger, Jacob Pratt, 27, checked on Thorkildson and Wade and saw that Thorkildson was unresponsive and Wade was moaning in pain, Downs said. They then fled on foot and called a taxi to pick them up. Police found them about an hour later during a search of the area.

In an agreement with prosecutors, Tapuaialupe pleaded guilty Friday to vehicular homicide, vehicular assault and hit-and-run causing death. In exchange, Vu agreed to recommend a sentence of five years, about six months less than the maximum.

Vu said he agreed to the deal because the prosecution faced an obstacle in proving to a jury that Tapuaialupe was intoxicated at the time of the crash. Detectives were unable to serve a search warrant to take blood samples from Tapuaialupe until five hours after the crash, in part because it took officers time to locate him after he fled the scene. Five hours after the crash, Tapuaialupe’s blood alcohol was 0.015 percent, well under the legal limit of 0.08 percent. He also had traces of marijuana in his system.

In a low voice, which was barely audible, Tapuaialupe apologized to the family and asked for their forgiveness.

Thorkildson’s family and friends packed Judge Robert Lewis’ courtroom Friday to ask the judge to sentence Tapuaialupe to the maximum.

Tapuaialupe hung his head and people in the courtroom’s public gallery wept during emotional speeches by Thorkildson’s family members.

“Accidents happen, but for him to hit us and then walk away as Greg lay dying in the arms of a witness and I was unconscious was cowardly,” Wade said.

Wade’s sister, Melissa Rushton, said that since Thorkildson and Wade began dating six years ago, he treated Wade’s 9-year-old son, Jayce, as his own.

“I hope that someday I am lucky enough to share that kind of love with someone,” Rushton said.

Thorkildson’s adult son, Steven, who is stationed with the Navy in Japan, couldn’t be present for Friday’s hearing. His mother, Jennifer Jenkins, said Steven Thorkildson was able to get leave to arrange and attend his father’s funeral. She said her son was the last person to see Thorkildson before the casket was closed.

“Sometimes, I think I have it worse off,” Wade said. “That I am left here with this pain that will never go away.”

Wade said Thorkildson worked hard to provide for their family and recently had been promoted at Franz.

“Greg was my brother, but he was also one of my best friends,” said Doug Thorkildson. “Greg was as perfect of a person as a human being can get. He would always help anybody that needed it, no matter what he was doing or how busy he was.”

Since Thorkildson’s death, Rushton said, she has moved in with Wade and Jayce in order to provide them with financial and emotional support. Otherwise, she said, Wade would have likely lost her home due to the loss of the second income.

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“In retrospect, I wish more than anything I had never asked them to accompany us to dinner that night, because then they wouldn’t have been in the car accident,” Rushton said, her voice breaking between sobs.

Lewis thanked the family for relaying how Thorkildson’s death had impacted their lives.

“It does affect me; I won’t pretend that it doesn’t,” Lewis said. “In a way, it should be irrelevant to me because — I’ll say this to the defendant — no person, however friendless or isolated they are in life, deserves to be left to die as a result of your actions. That is the most disturbing thing to me.”

He sentenced Tapuaialupe to the maximum allowed under the law — 5½ years in prison and 18 months of community supervision. His driver’s license also will be revoked for a period of two years after his release from prison.

“I have no reason to believe you have no remorse,” Lewis said.

However, he added: “You knew exactly what you were doing. You were leaving the scene, and the main thing you were focused on was yourself.”

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