LYNNWOOD — A 20-year-old man was driving recklessly before a fatal crash in Lynnwood in August, detectives have concluded.
Lynnwood police recently forwarded the case to Snohomish County prosecutors for review. They investigated the driver on suspicion of vehicular homicide, a felony.
He allegedly was driving 51 mph in a 35 mph zone.
Court records show the Shoreline man was ticketed for speeding in Lynnwood twice in the year before the crash. He was cited in September 2014 for speeding in a school zone, and again in June for going 18 mph over the speed limit. Both fines were unpaid and went to collections, records show.
The man is described in a police report as an Edmonds Community College student. He was enrolled last summer but no longer attends the college, EdCC officials said.
The crash happened just before 4:30 p.m. Aug. 22 along 36th Avenue W. The man was southbound in a silver Mitsubishi Eclipse when he passed another vehicle.
A woman was northbound in a green car. Her passenger, Zhi Ping Guan, 47, was wearing the shoulder portion of her seat belt, but not the bottom piece, according to the police report.
The driver of the green car slowed to make a left turn into an apartment complex when she was T-boned by the Eclipse.
The impact caused Guan’s passenger door to unlatch and swing open. She was thrown from the car. She suffered fatal head injuries and died at the scene. No one else was seriously hurt.
The driver of the green car told police she never saw the Eclipse coming. The Shoreline man told police he was headed to the grocery store after a church event. He said he had tried to brake but could not avoid the collision. He likely could have stopped in time had he been going the speed limit, detectives determined.
The Herald is not naming the man, as he has not been charged with a crime. Alcohol and drugs weren’t believed to be factors in the crash.
A vehicular homicide charge is most often filed in connection with people killed in drunken-driving collisions. The state law also can apply if a driver was reckless or disregarded others’ safety.
Investigators wrote that they believe the man’s “excessive speed rises to the level of recklessness in such a populated area.”
A service for Guan was held in Edmonds in August.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
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