Stanwood man sentenced to more than three years for fatal crash from 2022

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, March 17, 2026

EVERETT — A Snohomish County Superior Court judge sentenced a Stanwood man to more than three years in prison Tuesday in connection with a 2022 collision that resulted in the death of an 85-year-old man.

This comes just over two months after Joseph Checkeye, 48, pleaded guilty to hit-and-run and reduced vehicular homicide charges.

During the evening of Nov. 13, 2022, Ronald Sailer turned left in his Nissan Rogue from 29th Avenue Northeast onto 140th Street Northeast, also known as Fire Trail Road, on the north end of the Tulalip Reservation. Checkeye then rear-ended Sailer with his Dodge Ram pickup, court documents said.

Around 8 p.m., a motorist called 911 to report the Nissan’s driver was trapped inside the vehicle and pleading for help. He appeared to be in an “immense amount of pain,” she reported.

Collision detectives later determined the Nissan had left the roadway after the impact, breaking through a nearby fence and traveling parallel to the road in the grass before veering left and coming to rest in the eastbound lane, court documents said.

Checkeye had already fled the scene, but a Snohomish County Sheriff’s deputy discovered his truck’s dislodged license plate and front grill at the crash site.

The deputy traced the license plate to Checkeye’s residence, where they discovered a truck with front-end damage and a missing front grill and license plate. The truck’s hood was still warm, but there was no answer when the deputy knocked on the door.

First responders transported Sailer to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, where hospital staff discovered his injuries were more severe than paramedics had thought. Sailer’s injuries rendered him quadriplegic. He died two days later.

Sailer was the president of the Sno-Isle Genealogical Society.

When detectives returned to Checkeye’s home a few days later, the truck was gone. Detectives learned Checkeye had taken the vehicle to a repair shop. A shop employee reported that Checkeye said he rear-ended a car, but they drove away without stopping.

In a written statement to detectives, Checkeye said Sailer had failed to stop when turning, leaving Checkeye only “a second to apply his brakes.” He reported he was going the speed limit, 35 mph, and when he did not see the car after the collision, he drove home.

Crash data showed Checkeye’s truck was driving 85 mph seconds before the impact, court documents said. Upon applying his brakes, the car slowed to 47 mph at impact. Detectives believe these numbers were underreported due to the truck’s oversized tires.

Seconds before impact, the Nissan was moving at 1 mph. From there, it gained speed until it reached 29 mph at impact.

Detectives determined that if Checkeye had been traveling the speed limit, he would have had enough distance to stop his truck before the collision.

On Nov. 21, 2024, two years after the crash, prosecutors charged Checkeye with vehicular homicide in a reckless manner and hit-and-run fatality accident.

At the plea hearing on Jan. 14, prosecutors presented the amended charges, reducing Count 1 to vehicular homicide disregard for safety of others. Count 2 remained the same. Checkeye pleaded guilty to both counts before Snohomish County Superior Judge Paul Thompson.

Aside from a 2018 reckless endangerment misdemeanor in Skagit County, Checkeye had no criminal history, according to court records.

Per state sentencing guidelines, the standard sentence for this level of offense is 21 to 27 months imprisonment and 12 months community custody for Count 1. For Count 2, the standard sentence for this level of offense is 41 to 54 months imprisonment.

Both the prosecutors and the defense requested that Checkeye receive a First Time Offender Waiver and a sentence of 90 days in confinement followed by six months of community custody, court documents said.

To be eligible for the waiver, a defendant must never have been convicted of a felony offense, and the charges in the case are not classified as a violent, sex, or drug offense, nor a felony driving while under the influence charge. If granted, a court may waive the standard range sentence and impose up to 90 days of confinement, court documents said.

At Checkeye’s sentence hearing Tuesday, Snohomish County Superior Judge William Steffener heard statements from Sailer’s family asking the court to deny the waiver.

Prior to Steffener’s decision, Checkeye spoke to the court.

“I’m not saying I’m the victim here at all, but I am deeply affected by this and deeply regret everything,” he said. “If I could trade places with Mr. Sailer, I would. I know how hard it is losing a parent.”

Before he announced his decision, Steffener addressed Checkeye.

“A man died, and at this time, the court is going to sentence you within the standard sentence range,” he said.

Steffener sentenced Checkeye to 21 months in prison for Count 1 and 41 months for Count 2. The counts will run concurrently with one another. Upon release, he will serve 12 months of community custody.

“You may have made a poor decision on that day,” Steffener said after announcing the sentence. “That does not mean that your life is over at this point. It means that you have to pick up and start again.”

Jenna Millikan: 425-339-3035; jenna.millikan@heraldnet.com. X: @JennaMillikan