Driver was high, asleep when he fatally struck 12-year-old Midland girl, records show
A man who struck two 12-year-old girls walking on a Midland street, killing one and injuring the other, said he fell asleep behind the wheel after smoking methamphetamine, according to court documents.
Pierce County prosecutors on Thursday charged Terry Matthew James Kohl, 32, with vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, failure to remain at accident resulting in death, second-degree burglary, unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf at arraignment, per procedure. Superior Court Commissioner Craig Adams set bail at $1 million.
Kohl is accused of stealing a flatbed truck from a landscaping company early Jan. 15 and hitting Immaculee Goldade and her best friend Kathleen Olson, who went for a walk in their neighborhood during a sleepover. He left the girls in a ditch and fled. Sheriff’s deputies were called to the area near 104th Street East and 24th Avenue East by a woman driving behind Kohl who witnessed the incident.
Immaculee, known for her fun-loving spirit and big smile, died at the scene. Kathleen was hospitalized with a lacerated liver, bruised lung, concussion and several contusions.
Witnesses said Kohl sped up from 20 mph to 40 mph, the truck was weaving into oncoming traffic and then it veered and hit the two girls as they walked side by side. A GPS tracker confirmed the truck was traveling 39 mph when it struck Immaculee and Kathleen.
Deputies found debris at the scene, including a turn signal and chrome trim, which were later matched to the GMC flatbed truck. The truck was stolen that morning from a landscaping company in Edgewood, along with about $15,000 worth of yard maintenance equipment.
The stolen truck was recovered that night after a landscaper found it parked in a driveway and recognized it from photographs released by the Sheriff’s Department. Surveillance footage from a neighbor showed a man wearing a reflective safety vest pull up in the truck 10 minutes after the hit-and-run. He waited about 15 minutes before a sedan arrived, and then two people left in the sedan.
Investigators were able to track Kohl’s movements that day thanks to the GPS system in the stolen truck.
First it went to a convenience store where surveillance footage showed Kohl go inside to buy snacks. The truck idled in a cul-de-sac for about an hour, then “the vehicle left and drove to various areas, stopping seemingly on the side of the road or in an intersection,” prosecutors wrote in charging papers.
A witness told deputies he found Kohl sleeping behind the wheel in the middle of the road and woke him up, then the driver left. Kohl allegedly struck the girls moments later.
Once investigators identified Kohl as the driver of the truck, they spoke with his neighbors, who recognized the sedan shown picking Kohl up after the hit-and-run as one that had been parked in front of Kohl’s home. They also complained about drug activity at Kohl’s home.
A SWAT team arrested Kohl on Wednesday after finding him working in his driveway on a stolen Nissan pickup. A stolen .45-caliber pistol rested on the truck about six feet from where Kohl was standing, records show.
The Sheriff’s Department said it sent a SWAT team to take Kohl into custody because he has a history of violence and weapons charges.
Recovered from a Midland storage unit he rented Jan. 15 were about $15,000 worth of stolen landscaping tools and equipment.
When interviewed by detectives, Kohl allegedly admitted to smoking meth the morning of the hit-and-run and running over the girls.
“He said he woke up right after the collision to the vehicle jostling,” records say.
Kohl claimed he did not discover until two days later that he had struck a pair of 12-year-old girls.
This is not the first time Kohl has run into trouble with the law.
His father, who filed for a protection order in 2015, said Kohl drank daily, was abusive and “out of control,” records say.
Kohl’s first convictions came in 2017 after breaking into a home to steal a revolver and SUV, then using them in a home invasion robbery. He was arrested fleeing from that scene. Deputies had to break out the vehicle’s windows to take him into custody because he locked the doors and refused to follow orders.
A judge sentenced Kohl to two years and five months in prison.
He ran afoul of the state Department of Corrections again in 2020 after a 12-gauge shotgun, meth pipe and bottle of whiskey were found in his garage. He pleaded not guilty to first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm in that case, which is still pending.
Deputy prosecutor Tim Jones noted Kohl’s criminal history Thursday, said he failed to report to pretrial services in the prior case, and argued he presents a threat to the community and a threat not to appear in court.
Jones requested the court impose the $1 million bail
“The court finds that that is a very appropriate amount,” Adams said.
Staff writer Alexis Krell contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 27, 2022 at 1:17 PM.
