EVERETT — A 70-year-old Edmonds man was sentenced to three months of home detention Monday for an unusual vehicular homicide.
Ben Garnet Holt was neither drunk nor abusing illegal drugs when his pickup truck plowed into
a minivan idling at a stoplight.
Instead, what led Holt to face a judge Monday was a long history of epilepsy, recurring car accidents and his decision to continue driving.
Prosecutors alleged that Holt was driving “with disregard for the safety of others” when he slammed into the back of a minivan at nearly 70 mph, fatally injuring John Spudich. The accident occurred Nov. 17, 2009 at the intersection of 76th Ave. W and 220th St. in Edmonds.
Holt pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in March. On Monday, he expressed remorse in Snohomish County Superior Court.
“I know there is nothing I can do to make up for their loss,” Holt said, referring to Spudich’s family.
At the time of his death, Spudich, 62, had been married for more than 40 years. He had three children.
The family chose not to speak in court Monday.
Holt and Spudich’s family reached an out-of-court settlement late last week in a civil case stemming from the accident, Holt’s attorney Michael Patterson said. Under the agreement, Holt’s insurance company will pay close to $1 million and Holt will pay about $500,000, Patterson said.
Judge Thomas Wynne followed a defense recommendation that allowed a lower sentence than the standard sentencing range of more than a year in prison.
He took into consideration many factors, including the defendant’s age, his failing health and his lack of previous criminal history. Holt also was legally licensed to drive at the time of the crash.
“Nothing I do here is going to make it easier for the victim’s family,” Wynne said. “It was a tragic accident.”
In addition to the detention, Holt must complete 240 hours of community service.
Court papers describe Holt as confused at the scene of the crash. Blood tests later showed “a large amount” of an anticonvulsant medication.
State licensing officials canceled Holt’s driving privileges in June 2009, but he had them reinstated a month later, based on a physician’s recommendation, deputy prosecutor Tobin Darrow said in court papers.
Holt’s truck was equipped with a computer that recorded the vehicle’s speed and other information. The data showed Holt’s truck was traveling 68 mph when it smashed into Spudich’s van, court papers said.
The computer showed that Holt “did not apply his brakes at all prior to impact. The speed limit through this intersection is 30 miles per hour,” the prosecutor wrote.
The Mayo Clinic describes epilepsy as a disorder that results from the generation of disruptive electrical signals inside the brain. It is associated with recurring seizures of varying intensity, up to convulsions.
Even a tendency toward mild seizures requires treatment because they can be dangerous when driving and performing other activities, the Mayo Clinic says.
Between 2000 and 2010, Holt was involved in four other car accidents.
In 2005, he was involved in a two-car collision and in 2006 he rear-ended another car, causing injuries to the driver.
Holt surrendered his license after the 2009 accident.
“I can only hope that it sends a message that drivers with medical conditions will be very careful,” Darrow said.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com
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