Forks driver convicted of hit and run fatality; sentencing set for July 22 (CORRECTED)

EDITOR’S NOTE — This story has been corrected from its original transmission to reflect that, according to State Patrol reports, LaGambina was walking in the eastbound lane of Calawah Way in Forks, not walking along the side of the road.

PORT ANGELES — A Forks man has been convicted of a hit and run fatality in the death of a 25-year-old Forks woman last year.

Garrid Larson, 20, faces sentencing July 22 after a Clallam County Superior Court jury convicted him Wednesday of killing Aamanda LaGambina, the mother of a 6-year-old girl.

He hit her with his pickup truck on Calawah Way in Forks at about 9 p.m. on a rainy March 11, 2013, said John Troberg, chief criminal deputy Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney.

According to State Patrol reports, LaGambina was walking in the eastbound lane of Calawah Way in Forks when the pickup truck hit her with enough force to leave the impression of her face and body in the hood of the truck and throw her more than 170 feet down the roadway.

Larson did not stop, Troberg said, but later called a Forks police officer’s personal cell phone to report the accident.

LaGambina’s body was discovered later that evening by a high school student driving home, Troberg said.

Larson told the jury during the 2½-day trial that he thought he had hit an elk, Troberg said.

Larson faces a range of 31 to 41 months in prison, though a Superior Court judge could sentence him to 90 days or less as a

first-time felony offender.

“I will have to talk with [LaGambina’s] family before making a [sentencing] recommendation,” Troberg said.

________

Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsula

dailynews.com.

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