A 30-year-old Winlock man accused of murdering a father of two during a Sheriff's Office pursuit is being held in the Thurston County jail in lieu of $1 million bail.
Washington State Patrol troopers booked Matthew Robert Orr into the jail on Nov. 14 on suspicion of vehicular homicide, eluding a police vehicle and second-degree murder.
At about 10 p.m. that day, Orr drove away from a Thurston County deputy at high speeds, ran a red light and collided with another vehicle at the intersection of Tumwater Boulevard Southeast and Capitol Boulevard in Tumwater, according to State Patrol.
The driver of the other vehicle died at the scene. Coroner Gary Warnock identified him as Dane A. Nielsen of Olympia. A GoFundMe campaign for his family has raised more than $16,700 of a $50,000 goal as of Thursday.
Notably, the collision and the Sheriff's Office pursuit policies led Sheriff Derek Sanders to share a lengthy response on Facebook Saturday.
On Monday, the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney's Office charged Orr with the same crimes he was booked on, according to court records. The charges were filed three days after Orr attended his preliminary appearance in Thurston County Superior Court.
Judge Chris Lanese found probable cause for the alleged crimes and set bail at $1 million, which is what prosecutors requested, according to PAO spokesperson Tara Tsehlana. The jail roster shows Orr was still in custody as of Thursday.
The investigation
A probable cause statement describes the investigation into the pursuit and collision from the perspective of law enforcement.
On Nov. 14, a patrol deputy approached the intersection of Yelm Highway Southeast and Rich Road. There, the deputy saw a southbound black 2018 Dodge Charger make a turn from Rich Road onto Yelm Highway and continue west.
The back end of the Charger appeared to "fish tail" and the deputy heard the engine revving before taking off at a high speed, according to the statement.
The deputy followed the Charger west on Yelm Highway to conduct a traffic stop, but the driver did not pull over. The deputy sped up to about 100 miles per hour to keep up with the driver, but he lost sight of the Charger multiple times.
Two other deputies in the area tried to intercept the driver at Tumwater Boulevard Southeast and Capitol Boulevard.
As they approached the intersection, one deputy saw the Charger blow through a red light and T-bone another vehicle at an estimated speed of 100 miles per hour, the statement says.
The victim vehicle, a 2005 Ford Focus hatchback, experienced "significant driver side damage" and spun around before coming to a stop.
Meanwhile, the Charger rolled onto its top, slid about 50 yards, bounced off a tree and spun around before coming to a stop on its top.
Deputies detained the driver of the Charger in handcuffs after he emerged from his vehicle and identified him as Orr.
Orr allegedly told the deputies he was sorry "numerous times" and he only fled because he did not want a speeding ticket, the statement says. He reportedly did not ask about the other driver.
Orr did not suffer any "obvious injuries" but he was transported to the Providence St. Peter Hospital emergency room as a precaution.
State Patrol then took over the investigation. A trooper described as a drug recognition expert evaluated Orr and found no indications of impairment.
Orr allegedly admitted to speeding away from deputies at "triple digits" and said he had many traffic tickets -- so much so that the Department of Licensing had threatened to suspend his license if he got another ticket.
When asked about the traffic light at the intersection, Orr allegedly said he did not know if it was red or green and he "wasn't paying attention to that," according to the statement.
No other people or vehicles were involved in the collision, State Patrol reported. The roadway was blocked for about 6 hours and 30 minutes following the collision.