SANDPOINT — A Bonner County man who accidentally killed one pedestrian and injured another last year was ordered Wednesday to stand trial in 1st District Court.

Peter Franklin Goullette is charged with vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving in connection with a June 2016 collision with the two pedestrians on McGhee Road.

Idaho State Police said Katherine K. Stelzer, a 61-year-old Mead, Wash., resident, was killed in the collision and Zualita L. Updike, 50, of Clark Fork, was seriously injured when they were struck by a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck driven by Goullette.

Updike testified during a preliminary hearing in Bonner County Magistrate Court that they had been walking the road while facing oncoming traffic, but had crossed the road when a U.S. Postal Service truck appeared and ended up walking with their backs to traffic.

Updike told Judge Justin Julian that she was chatting with Stelzer when she heard a thumping sound and a vehicle’s engine. Updike said the collision sent her spinning like the tornado in “The Wizard of Oz.”

“I didn’t know why. I didn’t know for how long,” Updike said.

Updike recalled regaining her senses and discovering her friend dead and Goullette running toward them wearing one flip-flop sandal.

Two witnesses on McGhee Road, meanwhile, testified that the pickup truck was speeding down the route prior to the collision.

Regina Hammack told the court that it appeared the pickup was racing another vehicle that was close on its tail.

“I felt they were going too fast,” Hammack said, adding that she’d seen the same truck speeding on McGhee on earlier occasions.

Laurie Stone testified that she saw an oncoming pickup truck speeding on McGhee and veering into her lane of travel, causing her to slow and move closer the road’s shoulder.

“It looked to me as though his head was down,” Stone said, describing how Goullette appeared to be looking down and toward the left.

Idaho State Police Trooper Shane Werger testified that Goullette said he may have been looking into the seat behind him, where his son was seated, when the crash occurred.

A state police crash reconstruction determined that the Silverado’s pre-collision speed was estimated at 43 mph and the area-of-impact speed was estimated at 35 mph, which is 10 mph higher than the posted speed limit. It also concluded that Goullette used stern input on the wheel to swerve and braked hard in an attempt to avoid the collision, Trooper Allen Ashby testified.

The collision threw Stelzer more than 70 feet, while Updike was partially run over by the pickup, Ashby told the court.

Goullette invoked his right to remain silent and did not take the witness stand.

Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Roger Hanlon argued that Goullette broke several rules of the road in Idaho prior to the crash by speeding and neglecting his obligation as a motorist to avoid hitting pedestrians. Based on Stone’s testimony, Hanlon said Goullette may have taken driven for up to a half a mile with his eyes off of the road.

“He was not looking at the roadway in front of him,” Hanlon said, adding that Goullette’s excessive speed made the collision unavoidable.

Hanlon contended that Goullette’s driving was wanton and reckless, which elevates the manslaughter offense to the felony realm.

Goullette’s counsel, Chief Deputy Public Defender Susie Jensen, who raised objections to the lay witnesses’ observation of the truck’s speed, countered that the state fell short of showing that Goullette was most likely driving in a negligent manner.

“This is a horrible, tragic accident,” Jensen said.

Julian, however, found that the state had met its burden

“The testimony was compelling that Mr. Goullette was exceeding the speed limit,” said Julian, who also found that it was more probable than not that Goullette had taken his eyes off the road.

Goullette, 24, is free on $50,000 bond while the case is pending. He is scheduled to be arraigned in district court on Aug. 14.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.