EVERETT — A Monroe man was sentenced Thursday to four and a half years in prison for a crash that killed another man on March 17.
Dane Smith, 32, pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in July. He was behind the wheel of a Honda that crossed four lanes of the Bothell-Everett Highway and slammed into a Buick LeSabre.
The Buick’s driver, Gale Arnold, 63, died at the scene.
Smith admitted to injecting heroin seven hours before the crash and smoking marijuana a little while later, according to court records.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Bruce Weiss chose a higher sentence than prosecutors recommended because of Smith’s history of drug- and alcohol-related crimes, he said.
Before the wreck, Smith had two felony drug convictions. He also had 20 misdemeanor convictions, including a 2007 reckless driving charge. He was homeless at the time of the crash.
Smith had only started using heroin recently, said his attorney, Neal Friedman.
Smith had done heroin the night before the wreck, but he was on his way to visit his mother when he started drifting off to sleep, Friedman said.
Arnold’s family comforted each other in the courtroom.
The judge said letters show Arnold was the backbone of his family.
He told Smith to get help for his addiction.
“It was certainly a tragic incident, and the only one who could have prevented it was you,” Weiss said.
He also asked Smith if he wanted to address the court.
In a quiet voice and facing the judge, Smith apologized to Arnold’s family.
“If I could trade places, I would,” he said.
After the sentencing, Arnold’s stepson, Ron Lawson, encountered the family of Meghan Stivers. She died in a suspected drunken driving accident July 29.
They prayed together in front of the courthouse.
Lawson, of Marysville, said sentencing guidelines for vehicular homicide in Washington are too lenient.
“It’s not long enough,” he said.
“Hopefully, this is a wake-up call for him.”
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
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