MISSOULA — A man is being charged with deliberate homicide following a weekend incident in Missoula that left a woman dead.
Bradley Nagel is also being charged with a third driving under the influence of alcohol charge.
Prosecutors state in court documents that Nagel struck and killed Lucille Synek in the parking lot of WinCo foods on Saturday evening.
Nagel – whose eyes were described as bloodshot and glossy -- admitted to law enforcement that he was involved in the incident, according to court documents.
Nagel told a Missoula police officer at the scene that he and Synek — who were in a relationship — had been arguing about relationship problems outside his truck. Nagel said he tried to leave the area to cool off, but Synek stood in front of his truck and refused to move.
“Nagel drove his truck forward in a jerking fashion, hoping that Synek would move out of the way. Nagel explained that at some point Synek fell to the ground, and he ran her over,” court documents state.
A witness told law enforcement that he had seen a male and a female arguing and saw the female kick the taillight of the male’s truck. The male then kicked the headlight of the female’s vehicle. The witness says the male got into his truck and the female grabbed onto the driver’s side of the truck near the rear wheel-well.
According to court documents, the witness heard “the female yell, ‘stop. I’m stuck,’ but the male continued to drive forward.” The witness also told police he saw the male – later identified as Nagel – drive over the victim with his rear, driver-side tire.
The witness later told detectives that during the initial argument, he saw the female hit and push the male several times, and according to court documents said, “it did not look like the male ran over the female on purpose.”
Detectives viewed surveillance video of the incident and according to court documents, “Nagel stopped his truck for approximately one and one-half seconds while Synek was lying on the ground. Nagel then drove over Synek’s head/shoulder area. After hitting her, Nagel stopped his truck again, got out, and stood over Synek’s body. A short time later, he got back into his truck and moved the truck into a parking spot. Bystanders began helping Synek while Nagel stayed in his truck. He later got out again to check on Synek."
Synek was taken to a Missoula hospital where she later passed away.
Nagel made his initial court appearance in Missoula Justice Court Tuesday afternoon where a judge set bond at $1 million. Nagel is scheduled to appear in court again on Nov. 1.
Click here to view the court documents associated with the case.
