A Montana mother, aged 28, with two offspring named Aryan and Nation, found herself under arrest for the tragic demise of a Native American woman. This unfortunate incident occurred while she was purportedly under the influence of methamphetamine. Adding to the distress, she asserted that she had mistakenly identified the victim as a deer.
Sunny White was apprehended in Flathead County on Friday, following a warrant from Lake County. She faces charges of vehicular homicide under the influence, stemming from the March 2023 demise of 22-year-old Mika Westwolf. Supplementary charges include involvement in accidents with another person or a deceased person, two counts of criminal child endangerment, and criminal possession of dangerous drugs.
On the early hours of March 31, Westwolf, aged 22, was walking along Highway 93 in Arlee when she was struck by White's Cadillac Escalade. The vehicle carried White's 4-year-old daughter, Aryan Holmes, and her 2-year-old son, Nation Holmes. Sunny White, the 28-year-old mother with two children named Aryan and Nation, is under investigation as the suspected driver in this fatal incident.
White's blood sample revealed the presence of fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Following White's arrest, Westwolf's family expressed mixed feelings. Carissa Heavy Runner, Westwolf's mother, conveyed, "I was glad to hear the news, you know, but I'm still kind of in shock because it really seemed like this day was unreachable," to The Missoulian.
Westwolf and her brother were returning home to Arlee from a bar in Ravalli County on the fateful night. They had stopped when Westwolf believed she left her phone at the bar, and she began to return on foot. Her lifeless body, alongside vehicle debris, was discovered by a tribal officer at 4:15 am on March 31.
Approximately an hour later, a Lake County deputy encountered White beside a damaged gold 2008 Cadillac Escalade, matching the description provided by the tribal officer. White claimed to have hit a deer and not stopped, mentioning her two children, Aryan, 4, and Nation, 2, were in the car during the crash.
Sunny White, 28, faces five charges, including vehicular homicide under the influence, in connection with the March 2023 fatal hit-and-run crash. The investigation into Westwolf's death spanned seven months, during which the victim's family led a statewide campaign for awareness, demanding accountability for White.
Carissa Heavy Runner reiterated her feelings to The Missoulian, expressing relief at White's arrest but still being in shock. Westwolf, a member of the Blackfeet Nation, and her brother were returning from a Ravalli bar after midnight on March 31 when, for unknown reasons, she exited the car near North Valley Creek, leaving her phone behind.
Tribal Officer T.J. Haynes discovered Westwolf's body on Highway 93, surrounded by crash debris, around 4 a.m. About an hour later, a Lake County sheriff's deputy spotted the damaged Cadillac Escalade near Polson, with White removing items and claiming to have hit a deer without stopping.
In her defense, White asserted she was passing a bottle to her child and did not see the deer. She later informed a Montana Highway Patrol trooper that she was driving with her two children from Butte to Kalispell for the weekend, denying alcohol consumption and stating she hadn't used methamphetamine or fentanyl in a week.
White claimed she assumed she had hit a deer and swerved to the left, resulting in Westwolf being hit head-on and succumbing to multiple blunt-force injuries on the spot. In the aftermath of her tragic death, Westwolf's family initiated the "Mika Matters" movement, advocating for justice through protests and awareness walks.
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