Woman Involved In Fatal Motorcycle Collision Charged With Vehicular Homicide

Prosecutors have charged a 71-yea-old woman with vehicular homicide after she allegedly drove into oncoming traffic, killing a motorcyclist south of Gig Harbor over Memorial Day weekend.

Molly Burrell Lee was charged with vehicular homicide this week in Pierce County Superior Court.

According to court documents, authorities were called to the 2800 block of East Bay Drive Northwest shortly after 7 p.m., May 25 for a report of a collision. They arrived and found the motorcyclist, Alex Heinz, 68, unresponsive on the side of the road. He was transferred to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tacoma, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.

A witness contacted Lee, who was driving a black Mercedes that collided with the motorcycle and struck a tree. When talking to authorities, she allegedly, “talked slow and exhibited long pauses in her responses, but her speech was not slurred.”

Court documents say authorities did not smell alcohol on Lee or the car. She did, however, give an officer an incorrect birth date and didn’t respond when asked about an emergency contact.

Later at the hospital, Lee allegedly told officers that she didn’t know what happened or where she was.

Authorities say evidence shows the collision in the northbound lane, where Lee’s vehicle allegedly crossed over from the southbound lane.

Lee’s medical history noted a recent fall after she fainted earlier this year, and she was hospitalized in 2012 after a fall with “resulting traumatic brain injury.” She was also instructed by her doctor not to drive, according to court documents.