A Centralia man could face life in prison after he was charged with vehicular homicide for allegedly hitting and killing a pedestrian over the weekend.
Erik R. Satterfield, 47, made a preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court Tuesday.
According to court documents, the victim’s name is Jerry Antonio Hernandez Nunez.
During the preliminary hearing, Deputy Prosecutor Brandi Archer requested a bail amount of $250,000 cash or bond, along with standard release conditions to include no driving without a valid license and insurance.
“The reckless manner in which Mr. Satterfield was allegedly driving gives the state great concern for community safety,” Archer said.
Defense attorney Rachael Tiller argued for no more than $50,000 in bail, saying Satterfield resided locally.
“He expressed to me that he probably has lost his employment,” Tiller added.
Tiller said she saw no similar offenses when reviewing Satterfield’s criminal history.
Judge J. Andrew Toynbee set bail at $250,000 cash or bond, “based on the severity of the allegations here and the threat to community safety that comes along with those allegations.”
A Centralia police officer responded to the reported incident in the 2800 block of Russell Road at about 12:45 a.m. May 23.
According to a probable cause affidavit, the caller, who later said she did not witness the collision, had reported a male pedestrian lying in the road, “unconscious but still breathing.”
The officer arrived to find three individuals by the male.
The affidavit noted “lifesaving measures employed by other police officers” and said emergency medical services (EMS) were called.
Hernandez Nunez would eventually die from his injuries, according to the affidavit.
The caller reportedly told the officer she had “heard a loud bang and a crash” while inside her apartment and then saw the driver “checking on the male lying on the roadway.”
Another witness reportedly gave a similar statement.
When contacted by police, Satterfield said he saw the man “lying in the road,” exited his car and saw the witnesses “running toward him,” according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, Satterfield said he asked the witnesses to call 911 and then checked Hernandez Nunez’s pulse “and believed he felt one.”
“Erik did not admit to striking Jerry, and at that time no witnesses tied him to the collision,” the affidavit said.
After cooperating with police and providing his information, Satterfield left the scene.
Detectives arrived and interviewed the witnesses. One reportedly said he saw Satterfield's car pass him while he was riding his bicycle.
“(The witness) said when the car was coming at him, he thought he was going to get hit because the car was swerving so bad he turned on his bike light so the car's driver would see him,” the affidavit said.
The car reportedly continued southbound but then turned around near where Hernandez Nunez was found, according to the witness.
The detectives later discovered that Satterfield’s car had “damage to the front driver's side of the vehicle, in the headlight area, as well as the underneath portion of the bumper,” the affidavit said.
They also allegedly found “pieces missing that had the same color as the pieces of plastic found
at the collision scene.”
A state trooper reportedly confirmed the bumper’s color matched with those pieces.
Speaking with detectives, Satterfield allegedly denied hitting Hernandez Nunez.
“He said he saw something in the road near the apartments, so he turned around and came back to see what it was and saw that it was a person,” the affidavit said.
Detectives reportedly believed Satterfield smelled like cannabis.
Satterfield was booked into the Lewis County Jail at about 4:54 a.m.
The defendant, who will be represented by Don Blair for future proceedings, is scheduled for an arraignment on Thursday.
