SEATTLE — Prosecutors charged a Seattle man last week accused of killing two Snohomish teenagers while driving drunk the wrong way on the West Seattle Bridge.
On March 22, Delfino Lopez-Morales, 36, was driving a pickup truck on the West Seattle Bridge, according to charging papers filed in King County Superior Court. The truck belonged to Lopez-Morales’ friend. He was not licensed to drive, according to the charges.
Just after midnight, he allegedly drove the truck over a curb dividing the east and west lanes. With his headlights off, Lopez-Morales drove “70 to 90 mph” in a 45 mph zone and straddled two lanes, almost hitting oncoming cars, prosecutors alleged.
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Lopez-Morales slammed head-on into a Honda Civic driven by Riley Danard, 18, according to the charges. Khalea Thoeuk, 18, was sitting in the front passenger seat.
The final speed of the truck was estimated over 100 mph and captured on Seattle Department of Transportation video, according to court documents.
Danard and Thoeuk were pronounced dead at the scene. They were celebrating Danard’s birthday.
Police found an empty beer bottle in the passenger seat of the truck Lopez-Morales was driving, the charges say. The defendant suffered serious leg injuries and was trapped inside his car.
His injuries were so severe that police couldn’t perform a drunken driving evaluation. A blood draw, taken about three hours after the crash, indicated Lopez-Morales’ blood-alcohol level was 0.14, almost twice the legal limit, according to the charges. THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, was also found in his blood.
In a police report, an officer argued the cause of the crash was Lopez-Morales “driving in a rash and heedless manner, indifferent to the consequences while under the influence of alcohol.”
The defendant was hospitalized for over two months.
His arraignment for two counts of vehicular homicide is set for Thursday in King County Superior Court. Prosecutors planned to request a judge set bail at $250,000.
“We all just want justice for Khalea and Riley and encourage against impaired driving,” Thoeuk’s family said in a statement Wednesday.
Jonathan Tall: 425-339-3486; jonathan.tall@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @EDHJonTall.
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