2 weeks Ago
Sunny K. White, 28, arrives at the Lake County District Court Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, in Polson for her arraignment on multiple charges including vehicular homicide filed against her in connection with the death of Mika Westwolf, a young Indigenous woman.
On Oct. 30, she pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide. A Butte woman on Wednesday pleaded guilty to the vehicular homicide of Mika Westwolf, a young Native woman who was struck in a hit-and-run crash while walking along the highway near Arlee last year.
In a plea agreement with Department of Justice prosecutors, Sunny K. White, 29, also pleaded guilty to one felony count of accidents involving another person or deceased person. Under the plea deal, prosecutors dismissed three other felonies: two counts of child endangerment and one count of criminal possession of dangerous drugs.
White, who previously bonded out of jail, will remain out on bail until sentencing, Assistant Attorney General Thorin A. Geist confirmed Wednesday. Carissa Heavy Runner, mother of Mika Westwolf, a young Indigenous woman who was struck and killed on March 31, 2023 while walking along U.
S. Highway 93 north of Arlee, speaks in front of family, friends and supporters outside the Lake County Courthouse in 2023. 'If you’re not white, you don’t get justice': Dozens in Arlee urge action Following White’s arraignment in November, Carissa Heavy Runner, Westwolf’s mother, had vocally advocated for the case to go to trial as opposed to White being offered a plea deal by prosecutors.
Westwolf’s death in March 2023 drew national attention. Her family led a statewide campaign, with awareness walks, rallies and other events, calling for justice and awareness in her case as well as other cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women. White’s two young children, named Aryan and Nation, were reportedly in the car when their mother struck and killed Westwolf, according to the crash report and charging documents.
White left the scene after hitting Westwolf in the early morning hours of March 31, 2023. A tribal police officer was on duty when he found Westwolf’s body on U.S.
Highway 93 around 4:15 a.m. Authorities tracked down White, according to the crash report, and found the suspect's Cadillac Escalade in Polson roughly an hour later using a description of damage the vehicle sustained from the collision.
White reportedly told troopers she thought she struck a deer, according to charging documents. Rena Heavy Runner, mother of Carissa Heavy Runner and grandmother of Mika Westwolf, 22, writes the name of her granddaughter on her vehicle window at a remembrance walk for Westwolf at the Arlee Community Center on Tuesday, June 13, 2023. Family, friends and community members participated in the first of four Missing Murdered Indigenous Relative Awareness Walks throughout the Flathead Reservation in remembrance of Indigenous people who were also struck and killed on U.
S. Highway 93 while walking on the stretch of road. Evidence collected from the crash site indicated Westwolf was walking in the northbound lane of traffic when she was struck.
She was hit head-on by the car’s passenger side, the case affidavit states. Westwolf died on scene from multiple blunt-force injuries. Arlee family seeks answers in deadly Highway 93 crash Erica Shelby — founder of Just Indigenous Corporate Services, an organization that helps Native American families navigate the legal system — said hearing White pleaded guilty was “surreal.
” While the admission symbolized progress in the case, Shelby said she and Westwolf’s family “still have work to do,” referring to White’s sentencing and parole hearings. “This is going to be a big win in general for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement and for the justice for Indigenous people movement,” Shelby said. The Montana Human Rights Network previously said in an online statement that White subscribes to an "extremist, white nationalist ideology," citing her children's names and other research.
Wednesday’s hearing had been set as a pretrial conference, with a jury trial scheduled for early December. Carissa Heavy Runner, left, carries a portrait of her late daughter, Mika Westwolf, who was struck and killed by a vehicle on March 31, 2023, as she was walking home along U.S.
Highway 93. The remembrance walk raised awareness of other Indigenous people who have also been struck and killed while walking along Highway 93. Under the plea deal, state prosecutors agreed to recommend a 25-year sentence in the Montana State Prison, with 15 years suspended, on the vehicular homicide charge.
That means White would serve 10 years if she doesn’t violate the terms of her parole or commit new crimes. The state can also argue for a 10-year parole restriction. White’s defense attorney can argue for no less than 20 years, with 15 years suspended, under the agreement.
The defense can argue for no parole restriction. On the other felony conviction, the parties agree to recommend a five-year prison term, with all five years suspended. Photos of the week 01 The judge is not bound to follow the sentencing recommendations from either party.
Family members and others will have an opportunity to provide statements to the court at White's sentencing. Lake District Court Judge Molly Owen didn’t immediately set a sentencing date for White during the hearing on Wednesday, Geist said. He declined to comment further, citing the Department of Justice’s policy for pending cases.
Statewide Indigenous Communities reporter Nora Mabie contributed to this story. Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. State Bureau Reporter {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
.
