Wild ride started with stolen car

A 23-year-old Oak Harbor man is accused of stealing his parents’ car, speeding and rolling the car while driving three teenagers home from a party Aug. 10, according to court documents. Prosecutors charged Garry Hibbard in Island County Superior Court Sept. 28 with taking a vehicle without permission and four counts of reckless endangerment.

By Jessie Stensland • October 16, 2009 2:04 pm

A 23-year-old Oak Harbor man is accused of stealing his parents’ car, speeding and rolling the car while driving three teenagers home from a party Aug. 10, according to court documents.

Prosecutors charged Garry Hibbard in Island County Superior Court Sept. 28 with taking a vehicle without permission and four counts of reckless endangerment.

Deputy Lane Campbell with the Island County Sheriff’s Office was called at about 3 a.m. Aug. 10 to the scene of the accident at the intersection of Arnold and Monroe Landing roads. The vehicle “failed to negotiate the ‘T’ intersection” and rolled two or three times, Campbell wrote.

Nobody was seriously injured. The occupants of the vehicle left the scene, but deputies were able to locate them about an hour later. Hibbard was allegedly driving the vehicle with three passengers — an 18-year-old man, a 16-year-old girl and a 14-year-old girl.

The teenagers said they had been at a party on Riepma Avenue with 20 to 30 other kids. Hibbard had thrown the party at his parents’ house while they were on vacation. He drove his parents’ car to bring the three friends home, but crashed on the way, the report indicates.

When Hibbard’s parents got home, they told Campbell that their son didn’t have permission to drive their car or have a party at their house, the report states.

Campbell wrote that he interviewed two of the passengers and they indicated that Hibbard was speeding, possibly over 100 mph, before the accident occurred. Based on the physical evidence at the scene, he determined that the car was traveling at a minimum of 70 mph when Hibbard lost control, Campbell wrote.

“Based on witness statements and the physical evidence present at the scene, it was determined that high speed was the main factor in this collision,” Campbell wrote. “Although no one was seriously injured in this collision, Hibbard’s actions were extremely dangerous and showed an obvious disregard for the safety of person and property.”

If convicted of the charges, Hibbard could face up to a year in jail under the standard sentencing range.