In 2014, Washington State experienced a total of 429 car crashes that resulted in death. Close to fifty percent of those car accidents involved alcohol consumption. To try and mitigate these numbers, Washington's legislature created a statute to penalize drivers who unintentionally harm another individual with their vehicle by either driving recklessly or driving while under the influence. In particular, according to state statute RCW 46.61.520, Vehicular Homicide is a felony charge a driver can be charged with if, as a result of the negligent operation of a motor vehicle, another person is killed. This Tuesday, a Washington woman was sentenced to forty months in prisonfor Vehicular Homicide after a drunk driving crash that killed forty year old Sondra B. Ashlock and injured two teens near Granger, Washington.
Facts of the Underage DUI Offense
On November 1, 2014, Ashlock was riding in the passenger's seat of a 1994 Honda Accord being driven by her twenty year-old daughter, Marisa M. Twinn. As reported by State Troopers, Twinn was driving northbound on State Route 223, approximately two miles south of Granger, when her car drifted off the road to the right causing Twinn to over-correct, shifting the vehicle left and ultimately resulting in the vehicle rolling. Troopers believe Ashlock, who was thrown from the vehicle, was not wearing a seatbelt during the time of the accident. Two passengers in the back seat -- Delfino Serrato, nineteen, and another unnamed sixteen year old female passenger -- were also injured as a result of the accident. All the passengers in the vehicle were transferred to Toppenish Community Hospital. After being transferred to the hospital, Ashlock was pronounced dead. From the hospital, Twinn was then transported by Washington State Police to Yakima County Jail, where she was booked on suspicion of Vehicular Homicide. Bail was set for $750,000.
Deputy Prosecutor Ken Ramm stated that a portable breath test administered on Twinn after the accident registered a blood alcohol level of 0.152 -- well above the legal limit of 0.08 and drastically above the 0.02 driving threshold for minors (twenty and under). Troopers also reported several open bottles of beer in the vehicle.Over a year after the accident, in Yakima County Superior Court on Tuesday, March 8, Twinn pleaded guilty to the vehicular homicide charge and was sentenced to forty months of jail time. Twinn's sentence is actually quite reduced for a typical Vehicular Homicide case.
Vehicular Homicide by way of DUI is a Serious Offense
As a class A felony, DUI-related vehicular homicide charges are taken extremely seriously in the State of Washington and require mandatory prison time and harsh penalties. While a driver charged with vehicular homicide when alcohol is not involved (due to reckless driving or driving without regard for the safety of others) faces a sentence ranging from twenty-one to sixty-eight months, a driver charged with vehicular homicide due to driving under the influence faces a sentence ranging from seventy-eight to one-hundred and two months.
In general, all DUI accidents are very complicated and can be aggravated with charges such as Vehicular Homicide. Given the severity of the consequences involved and the seriousness of the offense itself, seeking experienced legal counsel is imperative. At Wolff Defense, my expertise is focused on DUI defense. With fifteen years of experience, I am prepared to guide you through the legal process that is associated with any DUI charge.
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