Driver who killed Bradley Nakatani pleads guilty
Brad Nakatani's father came out to last year's Ride of Silence, silently honoring his son, who was struck and killed by an impaired driver in December 2011.
Many of us remember the chilling reports of Bradley Nakatani's death in December 2011, when he was killed by an SUV at 3 a.m. in Kirkland. The driver, Nathan J.Godwin, 26, of Redmond, was impaired, speeding and acting with little regard for others on the roadway. Today, he pleaded guilty and faces a possible 15-to-20 months in prison.
As we reported at the time, Bradley was a Club member and regular rider in the Group Health Commute Challenge.
SEATTLE - A driver accused of striking and killing a bicyclist in Kirkland in December 2011 pleaded guilty Wednesday to vehicular homicide and reckless endangerment.
Nathan J.Godwin, 26, of Redmond faces a possible 15-to-20-month prison term, followed by a year and a half of community custody, when he is sentenced Sept. 6 in King County Superior Court.
Prosecutors say Godwin was speeding and driving under the influence at 2:50 a.m. on Dec. 8, 2011, when he hit and killed bicyclist Bradley Nakatani, 35, on Northeast 124th Street.
According to police, Godwin had trouble with his field sobriety test and admitted to having had a mixed drink in addition to medication for treatment of an opiate addiction before driving. A report from the scene says Godwin blew a 0.078 during the breath test.
He was arrested after the crash, but was later released from jail on $500,000 bail.
The victim, Nakatani, was remembered as a kind man who was always willing to help others.
"He was a very gentle soul," the victim's aunt, Sharon Yorita, said in the days immediately after the fatal crash. "He would give you the shirt off his back. He was always helping me out with my mom and dad, who are 97 and 93."
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