EVERETT – A judge Thursday sentenced the drunken driver who killed Matthew Rubio to the maximum term in prison, ordering her to spend 31/2 years behind bars.
Rubio, 20, died Aug. 29 when a car drive by Shenequay Young, 23, of Lynnwood slammed her car into the Arlington man’s car on Highway 9. The crash also injured Rubio’s cousin.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Stephen Dwyer went beyond the three-year sentence the state recommended for Young.
She had driven in the wrong lane for miles before the crash, Dwyer said, and he noted that she was driving without insurance. After the crash, her blood alcohol level tested at more than twice the legal limit.
Young apologized to Rubio’s family.
“Nothing I say will be enough and nothing I can do will be enough to ease the pain,” she said. “It was my fault, and I should have paid the ultimate price.”
Rubio’s parents say they cannot forgive her.
“We are very happy with the ruling today, but the (sentence) wasn’t as long as we think somebody should get,” Tony Rubio said.
He and Matt Rubio’s mother, Tiffeny Rubio, are pressing state lawmakers to increase penalties for intoxicated drivers who cause fatal crashes.
But lawmakers say it’s unlikely a bill increasing sentences will get a hearing before the March 2 deadline.
The Rubios passed out fliers with the state legislative hotline number, 800-562-6000, before coming to court.
“Matt wasn’t in an accident. Matt was killed,” Tony Rubio said. “If she hadn’t been drinking that night, this wouldn’t have happened.”
His son often offered to give friends rides home from parties and called police when he saw drivers who appeared to be intoxicated, Tony Rubio said.
“People who are drinking and driving need to face the consequences of their actions, and three years isn’t enough,” he said.
The cousin injured in the crash, Ryan Tucker, is serving in the U.S. Navy and was unable to attend the sentencing.
“He’s having a hard time, but he called home last weekend and said he’s not giving, up,” Tony Rubio said. “Matt wouldn’t let him.”
Other relatives packed the courtroom for the sentencing. In the front row, Matthew Rubio’s sister Chelsea, 8, put her arm around her father’s shoulder as he reached for his son’s picture.
Matthew Rubio’s parents took her and younger sister Katy, 6, to visit his grave after the sentencing.
“I miss him a lot,” Tony Rubio said. “He was the person who kept our family together.”
Reporter Katherine Schiffner: 425-339-3436 or schiffner@heraldnet.com.
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