An Orcas Island man who knocked down a ferry worker while driving his pickup off a ferry docked in Friday Harbor and continued along his way has 30 hours of community service to perform for misdemeanor hit-and-run.
On Sept. 21, Bradford Scott Siep, 38, pleaded no-contest in San Juan County Superior Court to one count of hit-and-run property damage, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to 90 days in jail with 85 days suspended for two years. He was ordered to pay $1,050 in fines and fees, and to pay $1,000 in restitution to the ferry worker, who suffered shoulder, neck and back injuries as a result of the collision. Siep was credited with having served one day of that five-day sentence.
Initially charged with felony hit-and-run, Siep pleaded no-contest, known in Washington state as an Alford plea, to the lesser offense in exchange for a recommended sentence offered up by prosecutors and imposed by the court. As part of the sentence he will be allowed to perform four days of community service in lieu of jail.
According to court documents, Siep struck an employee of Washington State Ferries who was guiding traffic off an inter-island ferry in mid-May, and continued along through Friday Harbor before being pulled over about eight blocks away from the ferry landing. He was also charged with driving with a suspended license, a misdemeanor offense, to which he pleaded guilty.
At the time of his arrest, Siep reportedly told a deputy that he was just about to turn around and drive back to the ferry landing to check on the condition of the ferry worker, according to court documents.
