AUBURN, Wash. — Two years after a devastating hit-and-run crash nearly claimed the life of a motorcyclist, Washington State Patrol (WSP) announced the arrest of a homeless man in connection to the case.
Gilbert Foster, 63, faces a charge of felony hit-and-run for the June 2023 incident. He is accused of speeding away from motorcyclist Monica Hawley after he allegedly veered into her on an off-ramp along State Route 18 in Auburn.
In an interview with KOMO, Hawley recalled that harrowing day when her leg became pinned between her motorcycle and a guardrail following the violent hit-and-run crash.
“I was in the ambulance and one of the paramedics said something about amputating my leg and I looked up at him and I said, ‘hey I’m not gonna lose my leg (am I)?’ and nobody would answer me,” she recounted.
The crash resulted in Hawley undergoing 10 surgeries to save her leg. She also had to relearn how to walk.
“You can take a leg, you can take an arm if you want, just (save my life)!” she remembers saying to rescuers in the ambulance.
What followed was two years of excruciating physical therapy on a near daily basis. Despite the ordeal, Hawley maintained faith that the person who hit her would eventually be arrested.
“I have faith in the police. I figured karma could catch up to them eventually,” she said.
Foster’s arrest came just days after Hawley was cleared by doctors to finally complete her physical therapy. Details of his arrest remain sparse, but Hawley expressed relief that her cold case had finally been cracked.
“I always thought (the suspect) was intoxicated and hit me and didn’t know, and that’s something I could forgive, I understand mistakes happen,” she said. “But he made a decision to drive off and that decision could’ve cost me my life, so that wasn’t an accident. That’s something he chose to do.”
Among those celebrating an arrest in Hawley’s case were Hawley’s biker buddies.
“Finally. Just one word. Finally,” said one friend. “To have her here with us, to be able to lead rides again, to able to still be part of our group. It gives you chills.”
Throughout her recovery, Hawley said she made it her mission to keep her spirits high, using humor as she navigated through such hardship.
“I remember joking with my husband when I was in the hospital, ‘you better get my bike ready by next weekend, because I’m hopping on that thing as soon as I can,’” she said.
As Hawley “roars” her way through recovery, she told KOMO that Foster allegedly abandoned the car involved in the crash in an attempt to destroy evidence. She said she intends to attend his eventual trial.
“I’m very happy. Hopefully, this chapter comes to an end very soon,” she said.
