Driver in deadly DUI crash free pending test results
Published 3:23 pm Monday, March 1, 2010
EVERETT — Police today said the woman who they believe killed two people in a Friday night drunken-driving crash on Broadway Avenue was arrested but not jailed.
Everett police Sgt Robert Goetz said that once a person is booked into jail, a clock starts ticking for prosecutors. Investigators feared jailing the woman immediately may have meant that her blood alcohol levels would not be available quickly, he said.
The woman’s blood was sent to the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab for testing. Once the results are returned, Everett detectives will forward the case to Snohomish County prosecutors and the woman may be charged.
“We understand that the public could be a little surprised that we didn’t book her,” Goetz said. “But it is the best thing for the case, and the prosecution of the case, and to do justice for the victims.”
State crime lab officials have been open about their struggle to keep pace with demand for forensic tests in criminal cases.
The woman, 28, of Bothell, was arrested Friday night for investigation of vehicular homicide, drunken driving and vehicular assault. Because she was freed without being booked into jail, no bail was set. The woman is not considered a flight risk, Goetz said.
A 19-year-old Yakima man and a Tacoma woman, 24, were killed in the crash. Their names have not been released.
Two other men, both 18, were rushed to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Their conditions today were listed as serious, Goetz said.
One of the injured men is from Lakewood; police werent certain where the other man lives.
Police believe the suspect was driving an SUV north on Broadway by the Evergreen Cemetery and missed a right turn onto an overpass that leads to the continuation of Broadway past 41st Street.
Instead, the driver allegedly went straight against traffic and crashed head-on with a passenger car, killing the driver and her passenger.
It is a little bit difficult to do, Goetz said. Intoxicated drivers are unpredictable.
Investigators said at least one driver who wasnt involved in the crash witnessed what happened.
