The driver of a Toyota Prius in a March 6 fatal collision in south Gardnerville is reportedly on felony probation in connection with driving into the Carson City Sportsman’s Warehouse on Jan. 15, 2021.
Ronald David Wilkerson received six months probation at his Jan. 24 sentencing hearing for felony disregarding safety resulting in death or bodily harm. He faces a 12-30-month underlying prison sentence, according to Carson City prosecutor Garrit S. Pruyt.
“We asked for prison, but obviously that didn’t happen,” Pruyt said on Friday morning.
On March 6, the Prius was southbound on Highway 395 in a Toyota Prius when the driver suddenly lost control of the vehicle and drove across the oncoming lanes and over the sidewalk before the vehicle spun around and hit a power pole, killing 85-year-old Joyce Chambers, according to the Nevada State Police.
While the state has not identified Wilkerson as the driver, Pruyt said he was alerted by law enforcement. A second source confirmed that Wilkerson was the driver.
Though Wilkerson is still on probation, it’s possible that will expire before the Nevada State Police investigation is complete in the case.
“If his probation expires then we are not in a position to charge him,” Pruyt said. “It’s up to Parole and Probation to file the appropriate request.”
Pruyt said Wilkerson was ordered not to drive without a valid license, but it’s possible he was able to obtain a medical exemption from the DMV.
According to court documents, on Jan. 15, 2021, Wilkerson had just left the Department of Motor Vehicles a block away after being told his driver’s license was suspended when he turned west on Wright Way and accelerated his Toyota Prius through the stop sign on Stewart Street, ran over the curb, across the store’s parking lot and into the east side doors of Sportsman’s Warehouse.
The vehicle hit three people walking out of the building then struck three more people inside near the cash registers. The car stopped but then accelerated again inside the store, finally coming to rest against the interior of the store’s west wall most of 100 yards away.
Five of the six victims had to be hospitalized.
Wilkerson told a Reno television station that he’d suffered a seizure he blamed on his blood pressure medication.
