SPOKANE, Wash. — The man convicted of hitting a woman with a tow truck and ultimately killing her was sentenced to more than seven years in prison on Friday.
Jonathan Ryser was found guilty of the death of Kerry Wiltzius, a well-known triathlete, on March 22, 2023. The jury reached a verdict after only a few hours of deliberations.
Before his sentence was read, Ryser was visibly upset and holding back tears. At one point, he looked at the victim's family and said, "I'm so sorry." He did not make a statement.
Wiltzius went on an early morning bike ride on State Route 206 in June 2020. During her ride, she was struck by a tow truck, thrown off the bike and onto the side of the road. She died a few days later due to brain injuries caused by the incident.
Court documents said no alcohol was detected in Ryser's blood. However, drug results showed he tested positive for meth and "presumptive positive" for THC. Ryser later admitted to smoking marijuana the night before the incident.
Jurors heard from two final defense witnesses Tuesday morning, including Ryser himself, before starting deliberations late in the afternoon.
Ryser testified about the morning when he hit Wiltzius, stating he had been called in early that morning on a tow truck job and admitted he took a pill in the hours before the fatal collision.
"Just a pick-me-up," he said. "Anticipating Fridays for me were really, really busy, so just an energy pill type thing."
That pick-me-up was likely meth, according to prosecutors, who say Ryser had the drug in his system. Ryser testified he bought the pills from another driver, assuming they were an illegal drug.
Prosecutor Joseph Edwards told jurors Ryser was not only impaired but acted recklessly.
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.