<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) Justin Freeman was killed while riding a skate board in the Lowell area in August of 2006.

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2-year sentence for hit-and-run death of skateboarder

Justin Freeman, 12, died after being run over by a pickup truck while skateboarding in the Lowell area in 2006.

By Diana Hefley
Herald Writer

EVERETT -- An Everett man told a judge on Tuesday he just wanted to do the right thing by taking responsibility for running down a 12-year-old skateboarder.

Kasey Cline, 28, on Tuesday was sentenced to two years behind bars for hitting Justin Freeman with his pickup truck in 2006, killing the boy.

Cline, a plumber with a criminal past, didn't stop for Justin and instead drove to his nearby home. Both Justin's legs were broken and he was hit with such force that the truck's undercarriage left an imprint on the boy's back. He was rushed to a Seattle hospital with his mother at his side. Justin died a short time later.

"He was a real person. He was loved. He is missed," the boy's great-aunt told Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Gerald Knight.

Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Paul Stern asked the judge for three more months than Cline received, the top punishment under state sentencing guidelines.

He argued that Cline had plenty of opportunities to do the right thing, including stopping for the boy. Instead, Cline waited to plead guilty until he was faced with undisputable evidence linking him to the crime, including the recovery of Justin's DNA on Cline's truck.

Stern also doubted Cline's assertion that he didn't see Justin and didn't realize that he'd hit the boy. Investigators estimated that Justin was dragged down the road at least 30 feet, Stern said.

Justin was skateboarding with friends on Aug. 21, 2006, near his Lowell-area home when he was struck.

Witnesses told investigators that Justin was riding on his skateboard on his belly, called "street luging," when he was run over. Evidence later suggested the Justin was likely kneeling on the skateboard, Stern said.

Minutes before the 9:30 p.m. accident, a woman had called Everett police to report skateboarders running a red light at a busy intersection just blocks from where Justin was hit. Her description of the skateboarders matched Justin and his companions that night.

Justin was trailing behind his companions and they stopped so he could catch up. They heard the sound of a skateboard breaking and saw the boy flying through the air, according to court documents.

"Because (Cline) left, the family unfortunately is left not knowing the facts of the case," Stern said.

Cline didn't know he hit Justin, Cline's attorney Pete Mazzone said. He felt a thump and thought he might have hit a recycling bin.

There was no evidence to support that Cline drove on knowing he had hit Justin, the attorney said.

Nonetheless, Cline realized he might be responsible and met with Everett police the day after the accident, Mazzone said. He has cooperated and has wanted to take responsibility, Mazzone said. Cline didn't want to subject Justin's family to a trial. He also believes that he could have driven more carefully that night, Mazzone said. He wouldn't have been able to look himself in the mirror each day if he was set free.

Against Mazzone's advice, Cline pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide.

"He listened to his conscience," Mazzone said.

Cline on Tuesday apologized to Justin's family. He acknowledged that nothing he can do will bring back the boy. He also told them that over the last two years, he has often looked at the boy's picture and felt helpless to make amends.

"I still believe I'm doing the right thing," he said after he was sentenced.

Knight agreed. He also told Cline he had the opportunity to do the right thing in the very beginning. He should have stopped, Knight said.

"It's too bad you didn't stop," Knight said.



Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.