EDMONDS Georgia Pemberton’s family placed a memorial plaque along the Edmonds highway where the Lake Stevens 16-year-old died a year ago a marker they hope will remind drivers of the dangers of road rage.
Pemberton was killed on her prom night when a driver crossed the centerline on Highway 104 and crashed head-on into her car. Police say the driver, Allison Arnold, was attempting to pass another vehicle he had been racing with shortly before the crash.
Arnold was convicted of vehicular homicide on April 23. The second driver, Lukasz Kutek, of Shoreline, is scheduled to go to trial on the same charge on May 5.
Pemberton’s roadside memorial reads, “Georgia Pemberton: An innocent victim of road rage.”
The ceremony took place April 27 a year to the day after the fatal crash in the 8100 block of Highway 104 across from the accident site.
Pemberton’s death seems to have boosted awareness about road rage, said Edmonds assistant police chief Gerry Gannon.
“Keeping this in public view reminds people how easy it is to take away someone’s life in a moment of rage,” Gannon said.
“I hope people realize they should take it easy and relax when they’re driving. Don’t get caught up in the anger. It’s not worth getting mad about.”
That message may be getting through. Complaints about aggressive drivers on the state’s highways have dropped in the past year, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Dangerous drivers and road-rage incidents still are a problem, though, Washington State Patrol trooper Lance Ramsay said. Statewide, troopers wrote 5,849 tickets for negligent driving in the past year and a half a 20 percent increase from the previous year and a half.
That’s just one of the citations troopers can issue to drivers who break two or more traffic laws, such as speeding and following too closely.
That kind of driving can escalate to road rage, Ramsay said.
“The person who got cut off is the one who gets angry and is going to respond,” he said.
The State Patrol has an aggressive driver apprehension team that uses unmarked cars to target dangerous drivers. Troopers also send letters and occasionally make visits to drivers who others have reported as being aggressive, Ramsay said.
Dangerous driving should be reported to the police, Ramsay said.
“We don’t want people to start taking enforcement themselves. We will send them a letter, or if we’re in the area, try to contact them in person,” Ramsay said.
He urged drivers to remember Pemberton’s death when they are tempted to respond in anger to a bad driver.
“People don’t realize the final outcome is that somebody can die. That’s it. That’s the end. Then they’re always sorry after the fact. Let’s not be sorry, let’s be safe,” he said.
Katherine Schiffner writes for The Herald in Everett.
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