Family and friends of a Castle Rock woman who died in a car crash earlier this month rallied Friday afternoon outside the Cowlitz County Hall of Justice, calling for authorities to charge the driver with vehicular homicide.
Elisa Handley-Mason, 47, died May 2 when a vehicle she was the passenger in crashed into a tree along Spirit Lake Memorial Highway.
The driver, Shad Mathers of Kelso, had been traveling at a high rate of speed, Washington State Patrol reported earlier this month (it was not more specific). Handley-Mason’s mother, Theresa Finelli, said he was driving recklessly and should be criminally charged.
“This guy was obviously going too fast. Why doesn’t he get vehicular manslaughter, no matter if he was on drugs or not? Period. That’s the law.”
WSP spokesperson Will Finn could not be reached Friday to discuss the status of the investigation. Finelli said troopers did not drug test Mathers because he didn’t smell like alcohol, but that assertion could not be confirmed Friday.
Cowlitz County Prosecutor Ryan Jurvakainen confirmed Friday evening that his office had not yet received an investigation or referral for charges from the WSP.
Finelli and several others held signs outside the Hall of Justice calling for justice for Handley-Mason. They’d been there the previous Monday to wave signs, she said, and will do so again.
Handley-Mason died after Mathers, 45, driving eastbound on Spirit Lake Memorial Highway, left the road and hit a tree near milepost 1 at 11:37 p.m., according to the WSP. Mathers was injured in the crash and taken to St. John Medical Center.
Handley-Mason was “always full of joy, happy happy happy,” Finelli said. She touched many people’s lives, her mother said, and was an “awesome” mother herself.
“She was trying to get her life straightened around, and she was on her way,” Finelli added.
Handley-Mason has four sons and three grandchildren. She was born in San Diego and moved to Southwest Washington about 20 years ago, her mother said.
“She would give you the shirt off her back,” said Heather Clark, a friend of Handley-Mason. “Whatever she was doing, she’d stop what she was doing and help you straight away, no questions asked. Her soul was golden. Her heart was huge.”
Handley-Mason and Mathers had been dating but had broken up prior to the crash, Finelli said. Mathers was picking Handley-Mason up from Toledo that day, and they were heading to Toutle, Finelli said.
Finelli said her daughter’s death has left the family heartbroken, and she wants troopers to investigate whether Mathers had used drugs prior to the crash.
“I want information. I’m her mother. I want to know what is going on. I want to know what happened to my daughter.”
