'Family was everything to him': Children, widow reflect on Airway Heights man killed by alleged DUI driver in fiery motorcycle crash

Dusty Ryder was a father of four who had just gotten married and was ready to start a new life in a new home.

The 41-year-old Airway Heights man who loved ones say was "all about family" was on a motorcycle ride with his 18-year-old son, Harley Ryder, and his son's friend Saturday night in north Spokane. Police say a 37-year-old drunken woman blew through a stop sign at a high speed and collided with Dusty Ryder, sending him flying through the air and causing his motorcycle to go up in flames.

He died three days later at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.

"A silver car came flying through the intersection and hit him, and his bike exploded, and he was just laying on the ground bleeding everywhere," said Harley Ryder, who was riding a motorcycle immediately behind his father and narrowly escaped the crash. Harley Ryder's friend was also riding a motorcycle close by.

The silver car was a 2024 Mitsubishi Outlander driven by Keainna M. Cox, according to police in court documents.

Wearing gray Spokane County Jail clothing, Cox pleaded not guilty Thursday in Spokane County Superior Court to vehicular homicide, failure to remain at the scene of a fatal accident and driving with a suspended license.

The crash happened shortly after 8 p.m. on Indiana Avenue and Atlantic Street, a block west of Division Street, according to court documents.

Witnesses say Cox was speeding south on Atlantic when she ran a stop sign and collided with Dusty Ryder, who was riding west on Indiana Avenue with the other two riders.

Dusty Ryder's loved ones, including his children and widow, Kristi Warren, packed the courtroom Thursday for Cox's brief hearing. Many wore pins on their shirts that said, "JUSTICE FOR DUSTY."

Warren told The Spokesman-Review she married Dusty Ryder Oct. 10 and they were together for about five years. They signed paperwork for a house and planned to move in May 15, but she said now she can't move without him.

"He means the world to me," said Warren, who still plans to change her last name to "Ryder." "He was everything; he was my soulmate, my best friend."

She called the days since the crash "the most miserable five days of my life."

"I'm numb inside, I'm angry, I'm sad," she said.

Many loved ones, like Warren, were furious that Cox was out of jail in the first place.

Cox was arrested in November 2024 on suspicion of DUI and hit-and-run after she hit a truck near Spokane and drove away from the scene, court records show. No one was injured. She pleaded guilty in February to reckless driving and hit-and-run and was sentenced to two years of probation. She was ordered not to drink alcohol or use drugs as part of her sentencing conditions.

Shelli Oliver, Dusty Ryder's mother, said her son's death could have been prevented if Cox was sentenced to jail, for the 2024 incident, where she would be unable to harm anyone.

"She wrecked our world," Oliver said.

Oliver, who lives in Arizona, said her son moved from Arizona, where he was raised, to Spokane when he was 18 to raise his family. He has four children, three of whom are adults, Oliver said.

He worked in construction as an equipment operator.

"Dusty was rough and tough," she said. "He liked to fight. He was mean sometimes, but he was very protective over his family. Family was everything to him."

She said he and his children liked to go camping. They would also play games, like Monopoly, after eating dinner together.

Not only did he do everything with his family, he also mentored his children's friends growing up, Oliver said. She said her son taught them respect and a strong work ethic.

"A lot of them told me that they wouldn't be where they're at today if it wasn't for Dusty," Oliver said.

She said she was "hysterical" when she learned her son was in a serious crash Saturday.

Dusty Ryder was taken to Sacred Heart with life-threatening injuries, including a fractured skull, according to court records. An American Medical Response supervisor noted Ryder lost his pulse for seven minutes, but medics brought it back with CPR.

"I got on the first plane out of here and I was up there the next morning," Oliver said.

She said she was scared and begged God he would survive.

"My heart's broken. It's literally broken," Oliver said through tears.

Shawna Ryder, Dusty Ryder's 20-year-old daughter, said after Thursday's court hearing that she was a "daddy's girl." Her father taught her to never give up and be the "strong, independent woman that I am."

"He was a very stubborn, hard-working individual," she said. "He loved his family. That is what came first before anything, was being a dad."

Harley Ryder said he, his father and friend were riding motorcycles to his father's house for dinner when the crash happened. He said the car was going so fast that he didn't see it strike his father. His dad was lying on the sidewalk by the time he was able to hit his brakes, he said.

Harley Ryder watched as his father laid on the ground unconscious. He tried to wake him, but he couldn't. Emotions overcame him and he punched a tree, he said. His lower arm was bandaged Thursday as a result.

The father and son rode motorcycles together often. He was a hard-working family man "who wasn't ready to go," Harley Ryder said.

"He was everything," he said. "He taught me everything I know."

According to court documents, a man in the front yard of his Atlantic Street home told police he saw Cox turn onto Atlantic from Knox Avenue going 60 mph. He heard the vehicle accelerate on Atlantic and then an explosion two seconds later. He saw flames from the motorcycle and drove about three blocks to the scene.

The man said he heard Cox saying she needed help and that Cox called someone and told them she hit a person. The witness told police Cox tried to get out of the car, so he kept the door shut and kept her in the vehicle.

Cox then rolled down the passenger window, slid across to the passenger seat and got out of the car. The man said he pushed the driver to the ground and was trying to keep her there because she hit someone.

Police officers pulled up to the intersection and saw a motorcycle engulfed in flames blocking the eastbound lanes of Indiana Avenue, according to court records. A crowd of people and Cox's Mitsubishi, which had damage to the driver's side, were on a sidewalk.

Dusty Ryder was on the ground with a helmet on and blood covering his face, according to police.

Chandra Conlan told The Spokesman-Review she was a passenger in her friend's car behind the motorcyclists when she "heard the impact."

"It immediately exploded and caught fire," Conlan said of the motorcycle.

Conlan's friend, Ashley Tomlinson, pulled over and called 911. Conlan got out of the car and ran to Dusty Ryder.

Conlan said he was unconscious, but may have become conscious after he heard his son screaming for him.

She said she held Dusty Ryder's hand and helped him keep calm. She said he tried to get up, but she told him not to move.

"He's a fighter," Conlan said. "It's not fair."

Police detained Cox one block from the crash, according to court records. She told police she walked away from the crash because she was scared. She denied taking drugs or alcohol that day besides a prescription medication for depression.

A police officer leading Cox through field sobriety tests said he could smell intoxicants on her breath. He said Cox's speech was repetitive and her eyes were watery and bloodshot. She refused to take a preliminary breath test.

A Washington State Patrol drug recognition expert evaluated Cox at Sacred Heart and determined she was impaired by alcohol and central nervous system depressants.

Police wrote in court documents that Cox became upset at the hospital, yelling and arguing she was a victim in the crash, and threatened to kick the trooper who was trying to take her blood for analysis. She eventually calmed down, and a hospital employee drew her blood.

Cox told police she made a complete stop at the stop sign and proceeded south on Indiana Avenue when a motorcyclist hit her vehicle.

She remained Thursday night in the Spokane County Jail on a $250,000 bond. She is scheduled for trial in June.

A GoFundMe for the family has raised $6,800 as of Thursday night.

Shawna Ryder said the past few days have been similar to a nightmare, but she can't shake it off when she wakes up because it's real.

She said she feels better knowing how much people loved her dad and seeing the massive support in numbers at Thursday's court hearing. She hopes he's watching over her and her son.

"I just wish I could have my dad back," she said.

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