Carson City Sheriff provides additional information on arrest of Sportsman's Warehouse Suspect
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Fri, 01/29/2021 - 9:26pm
On Wednesday, the driver of a crash that injured five individuals within Sportsman’s Warehouse was arrested for reckless driving with substantial bodily harm, driving without a license, and failure to maintain a travel lane. According to the suspect, this is the third vehicle he has crashed.
On Friday, Jan. 21 at 11 a.m. Ronald Wilkerson of Gardnerville exited the Carson City DMV following a dispute regarding the denial of his driver’s license.
After leaving the DMV parking lot, an investigation conducted by the Carson City Sheriff’s Office reports that Wilkerson drove westbound on Wright Way, accelerated through the stop sign at the intersection of Stewart and Wright, and drove his vehicle over the curb and into the Carson Mall parking lot.
Wilkerson then drove his vehicle through the doors of the Sportsman’s Warehouse building, avoiding the cement pylon stationed in front of the doors.
Wilkerson struck multiple people inside of the store with his vehicle. At one point, Wilkerson briefly stopped the vehicle, then accelerated again within the store before coming to rest against the west interior wall.
Five individuals were taken to the hospital, two of which were flown by Careflight due to critical injuries.
Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong does not believe that the incident was intentional.
“At the time of the incident there was evidence to believe he had had a medical emergency,” said Furlong.
However, there has been no confirmation as to whether or not Wilkerson did in fact have a medical emergency at the time, but it is being reported that he was hospitalized for a medical condition following the crash.
In an interview with News 4, Wilkerson reported that he “blacked out” while driving through the intersection of Stewart and Wright, and when he arrived at the hospital and came to, he was told he had experienced a seizure by doctors. He also said he had crashed two other cars from similar incidents, and he had gone to the DMV to get his license after doctors “made him believe he was doing better,” according to the interview.
That interview can be read here.
While the investigation was completed on Jan. 21, it wasn’t until Jan. 26 that Wilkerson was arrested. Furlong stated that Wilkerson had been hospitalized for a medical condition at the time the warrant for his arrest was issued.
When asked if there would be any additional charges against Wilkerson, Furlong said it would be impossible to show intent.
Wilkerson was taken into custody without issue.
