A 20-year-old Everett man barely pushed back tears Wednesday when he stood in front of a judge and said he was guilty of killing three people, two of them his friends, in a traffic collision.
Grant Raymond Fosheim admitted he was legally drunk and racing another car when his 1994 Ford Mustang plowed into a van Feb. 23 on an Everett street.
The Mustang was traveling about 80 mph when it hit the van, driven by Jenny McCollum, 52, of Everett.
McCollum was returning home from her antique shop when she was killed at the intersection of Wetmore Avenue and 23rd Street.
Two of Fosheim’s friends, Michael Seavy, 20, and Cory Baudry, 18, both of Everett, also died in the crash, which happened on Seavy’s birthday. A third man in the Mustang, Dan Terry, 19, also of Everett, was seriously injured.
Fosheim stands to serve between about five and seven years in prison under the state’s sentencing range for the three counts of vehicular homicide, deputy prosecutor Joan Cavagnaro said.
The plea came after she negotiated a deal with defense attorneys to drop a recently added charge of vehicular assault for the injury to Terry, Cavagnaro said.
However, part of the plea agreement included Fosheim’s promise to pay restitution to Terry for medical expenses, according to court papers.
Cavagnaro said she will recommend the high end of the sentencing range, 75 months. If he had been convicted of all four counts, Fosheim could have spent nearly 10 years in prison.
Representatives of all three families were in Snohomish County Superior Court for the plea. They declined comment immediately, but Cavagnaro said the family members expressed interest in getting the case resolved before Christmas.
Family members said the plea was a step in the right direction, said Sandy Fitzpatrick, victim advocate for the prosecutor’s office.
If he had not entered a plea, Fosheim probably would have gone to trial in January or February, Cavagnaro said.
Fosheim is the second young person to plead guilty in the crash. A 17-year-old Everett teen who had been racing with Fosheim pleaded guilty to three counts of vehicular homicide last week in Snohomish County Juvenile Court.
Joseph Dale Hecht is scheduled to be sentenced next week, and could spend a year behind bars in a juvenile institution.
Both drivers a party and had been drinking the day of the crash. There had been discussion at the party about the Mustang being able to attain great speeds, according to court documents.
Although Hecht’s truck was not involved in the collision, the fact that he was racing Fosheim led to the charges against him.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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