Update, 3-25-21:
A Sitka Grand Jury has returned four felony counts against an alleged hit-and-run driver who killed a bicyclist earlier this month, and two felony counts against her father, for allegedly attempting to cover up the crime.
19-year old Brooke M. Mulligan has been indicted on
— one count of manslaughter, for recklessly causing the death of Terry Allan Carlson on March 8 of this year;
— one count of criminally negligent homicide;
— one count of leaving the scene of an accident without rendering aid; and
— one count of tampering with evidence to impair a criminal investigation.
All are felony counts.
Her father, 70-year old Richard Dennis Mulligan, was indicted on
— one count of tampering with evidence to impair a criminal investigation, and
— one count of rendering assistance to a person who may have committed a felony, with intent to hinder prosecution.
Both counts are felonies.
Brooke Mulligan is being held in the Sitka Jail, pending $500,000 bail. She’s being represented by the Public Defender. Her next hearing is scheduled for May 11 in Sitka Superior Court.
A preliminary hearing for Richard Dennis Mulligan has not yet been scheduled.
–Robert Woolsey, KCAW News
Original report, 3-24-21:
A woman has been charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide following a hit and run death of a bicyclist on Halibut Point Road earlier this month. 19-year-old Brooke Mulligan was arraigned on Wednesday afternoon (3-24-21).
Police received a call from witnesses reporting the accident shortly after 6 a.m. on March 8. According to an affidavit from the Sitka Police Department, witnesses reported that a dark colored Jeep without its headlights on had crossed over the centerline near the 2000 block of Halibut Point Road and hit the cyclist in the opposite lane.
The driver then allegedly drove off without exiting the vehicle. The cyclist, 20-year-old Terry Carlson Jr., later died from his injuries at the Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center.
Police found the damaged Jeep at Mulligan’s home, around a mile and half from the crash site. According to the affidavit, Mulligan told officers that she was in an accident and that she had used methamphetamine the previous evening. They found a glass pipe in the vehicle, and residue was sent off to the state crime lab.
In addition to the manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges, Mulligan is also charged with tampering with physical evidence and leaving the scene of an accident involving injury or death. Cash bail was set at $500,000, and as a condition of bail, Mulligan was ordered not to operate a motor vehicle, use illegal controlled substances, or have direct or indirect contact with the victim’s family. She was also ordered not to discuss the case with her father, Richard Mulligan, who’s been charged with tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution in the case.
Mulligan is being held at the Sitka jail. A preliminary hearing date was set for April 2 if she is in custody, and April 12 if she’s out of custody.
Erin McKinstry is a Report for America corps member.
