Pair charged in connection with Wasilla man’s death plead not guilty

MONTANA — In Montana last week a woman and her father pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the death of a Wasilla man on a Montana highway.

According to press accounts, Wryan Young, 31, of Oak Harbor, Wash., and her father, Westley Young, 50, both entered not guilty pleas last week. Both are charged with evidence tampering, and Wryan Young is also charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

Elgie Bedford, 81, was struck and killed on Interstate 90 near Big Timber, Mont., on Sept. 30. He’d been on a trip to Paris, Texas, to visit his children and had stopped on the side of the road.

The Youngs are alleged to have hit Bedford’s body, but not to have killed him. The elder Young is quoted in charging documents telling police that tracked him and his daughter down that they were not the first to hit Bedford.

The Youngs stopped at a car wash soon after and washed Westley Young’s Ford F-250. Clerks at the car wash and at a gas station nearby helped lead police to the Youngs.

The Associated Press reports that police in Montana say a truck driver has been identified as a person of interest and a charging decision will be made in the next few weeks.