Driver gets 7 years for deadly crash off Edmonds ferry terminal

Published 3:14 pm Tuesday, August 11, 2026

EVERETT — A man who killed two of his passengers when he drove off the Edmonds ferry terminal while attempting to flee from police was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years behind bars during an emotional hearing in Snohomish County Superior Court on Tuesday afternoon.

William Russell-Leonard, 30, pleaded guilty to four charges last month in connection to the deadly crash on the night of June 17, 2025. He admitted to being the driver of a stolen Mini Cooper that led officers on a pursuit from I-5 to the Edmonds waterfront before plunging off the ferry dock.

Two passengers, Melanie Ross, 48, and Porsha Sapp, 45, were found dead in the car by rescue divers, court documents said. Three others, including Russell-Leonard, were pulled from the water by police.

Loved ones of the victims wiped tears from their eyes from the moment they entered the courtroom.

“You intentionally drove that fast, intentionally didn’t care about nobody else in that car, nobody else,” Deavieona Alberta, one of Porsha Sapp’s seven children, said before sentencing. “I’ll never understand that. How can a human being just not care about anybody else like that?”

Investigators believe Russell-Leonard was behind the wheel of a car he’d stolen from his ex-girlfriend when troopers and deputies made multiple attempts to stop the car, court documents said. Instead, the man drove at speeds over 120 MPH through Lynnwood and into Edmonds evading law enforcement until the car drove off the ferry terminal.

Russell-Leonard originally faced second-degree murder charges, but by the time he pleaded guilty on July 15 the charges were reduced to two counts of vehicular homicide disregard for the safety of others, as well as one count of second-degree assault and possession of a stolen vehicle. All the crimes occurred while Russell-Leonard was on community custody for a previous conviction.

Prior to sentencing, attorneys reached an agreed recommendation of six-and-a-half years in prison on each count of vehicular homicide, as well as the maximum sentence for each of his other crimes, but the sentences were all set to be served at the same time.

Superior Court Judge Cindy Larsen rejected the agreed recommendation. Instead, she sentenced Russell-Leonard to the maximum standard sentencing range for vehicular homicide of just under seven-and-a-half years. The sentences will still be served concurrently.

“I don’t think I can, in good conscience, give less than the high end here,” Larsen told the courtroom. “It’s still only 89 months, which is not a lot for the lives of two people.”

Russell-Leonard offered a muffled apology before the judge delievered the sentence.

“No resolution, no sentence is going to ease the pain or ease the hurt, bringing them back,” Dave Roberson, a public defender representing Russell-Leonard, told the judge. “Mr. Russell-Leonard is certainly aware his actions caused the death of these individuals.”

Prosecutors said the guilty plea and sentencing recommendation were heavily negotiated based on evidentiary concerns that could have derailed the state’s case during trial.

“Nothing is ever going to truly right the wrongs of the defendant in this case,” deputy prosecuting attorney Kara Van Slyke told the judge. “These wrongs were to too many people and to too many families, because he accepted responsibility for contributing to causing the death of Melanie and Porsha he is still facing real consequences and giving these families peace to grieve outside the courtroom.”

Family members did not agree with the resolution.

“It just sucks that he took two innocent people’s lives and God knows when he gets out what he will do, because according to his record, he just doesn’t care,” Natasha Sapp, a cousin of Porsha Sapp, told the judge.

Russell-Leonard was on community custody at the time of the deadly crash for previous convictions of assault and eluding police in Pierce County. His attorneys said Russell-Leonard will use his time in prison to address his drug addiction.

“He is a menace to society, he has been a menace to society even before this happened,” Alberta told the judge. “But nobody held him accountable over anything he’s done, at all, and now there’s two people dead.”

In total, Russell-Leonard received more than 20 years for his four convictions, but he will spend seven-and-a-half years behind bars, since the sentences will run at the same time. He’ll then be placed on community custody for 18 months.

“As a family, we will continue to be strong for one another and support each other through this loss,” family members of Melanie Ross wrote in an impact statement read by victim advocate Hailey McCracken. “However, we also know this could have ended differently. We believe Melanie was taken far too soon and this is not how she would have wanted her story to end.”

Ian Davis-Leonard: 425-339-3097; ian.davis-leonard@heraldnet.com