By Jim Haley and Cathy Logg
Herald Writers
A Bellevue man accused of driving a sport utility vehicle that slammed into another car killing a 16-year-old Everett girl was charged Monday in Everett District Court with vehicular homicide.
Allison L. Arnold Jr. was being held on $50,000 bail and is expected to make another bail appearance today.
Arnold, 33, told Edmonds police he was forced off Highway 104 the night of April 27 during a road-rage incident before his Ford Explorer careened into the oncoming lane and hit a Ford Mustang carrying two Lake Stevens High School students returning from a prom in Edmonds.
Killed was Georgia K. Pemberton, who had been a passenger. She died of head injuries.
Georgia’s mother, Katie, was upset that Arnold’s bail was only $50,000.
"I was up all night thinking how unfair this is for all who loved her," she said. "I believe justice will prevail."
Katie Pemberton has a photograph of Arnold and his son, and she said she prays for the little boy.
She also said she wants her daughter’s friends to celebrate her life safely. Georgia’s friends apparently had a party April 29.
"They had 10 cases of beer. Please, kids, don’t do that. Georgia would NOT even be happy about that, guys. Celebrate her another way for me, please."
Pemberton made a pledge to her daughter to abstain from alcohol and asked the Lake Stevens High School junior class to pledge to abstain from alcohol on prom night next year.
She said her daughter and her date weren’t drinking.
"She never did (drink)," Pemberton said. "Look how popular she was. She didn’t need any of that, ever, to make her cool."
In Arnold’s case, the prosecutor will have about three weeks to refile the charge in Snohomish County Superior Court, where the case would be tried.
Michael Downes, assistant chief criminal deputy prosecutor, said he didn’t file directly into Superior Court because he’s waiting for more evidence.
"I would like to wait for the accident reconstruction report, which I’m told may be ready later this week," Downes said.
Edmonds police closed part of Highway 104 for a few hours Thursday to take measurements to help them determine what happened the night of the crash.
The charge alleges that Arnold drove "with disregard for the safety of others" and "in a reckless manner."
Edmonds police alleged that road rage was a factor in the accident. According to court documents, the Explorer had been engaged with another car in a game of passing and cutting each other off just before the accident.
Although Arnold said he had been forced off the road, other witnesses said he had been attempting to pass another car when he went into the oncoming lane and collided with the Mustang.
Arnold received a deferred sentence in a drunken driving charge in 2000, and has had four accidents since 1988, prosecutors said. In addition, prosecutors said he was convicted of nine misdemeanor charges dating back to the early 1990s, and third-degree rape in Pierce County in 1989.
Arnold and Benjamin Dillon, the driver of the Mustang, suffered minor injuries in the crash.
You can call Herald Writer Jim Haley at 425-339-3447 or send e-mail to haley@heraldnet.com.
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