Man pleads guilty for fatal January crash in Lynnwood

EVERETT — A Kenmore man who sped away from police and caused a fatal crash in Lynnwood last January could spend a decade in prison.

Joshua Krueger, 30, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Snohomish County Superior Court to vehicular homicide and a hit and run fatality accident. Prosecutors are recommending he be sentenced to nearly 10 years, falling in the middle of state guidelines.

An Edmonds officer attempted to pull over Krueger on Jan. 13. Driving a Jaguar XE, the defendant blew through a stop sign going up to 50 mph northbound on 72nd Avenue.

Krueger didn’t stop when the officer turned on the patrol car’s emergency lights. Instead, Krueger went through a red light, and sped off going as fast as 100 mph in a 30-mph zone.

The officer stopped pursuing and turned off the emergency lights. Krueger kept going. Then the officer saw a plume of smoke rising over the hill.

The Jaguar T-boned a Chevrolet Aveo at a high speed, rotated counter-clockwise and went airborne at the intersection of 76th Avenue West and 196th Street SW, a witness reportedly said.

Krueger got out of the car, ran through a QFC and exited the other side of the building. The Edmonds officer chased Krueger through the parking lot, until Krueger slowed and then got on the ground.

The driver of the Chevrolet, Kanh Tran, was unconscious. He died on the way to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Authorities took Krueger to a nearby hospital. He fidgeted and jerked his legs, and officers found a hollow pen used to smoke heroin in his jacket, charging papers say.

Krueger told detectives that he had sped away because he panicked. “He agreed that his speed could have been 100 mph and agreed it was not a safe speed,” prosecutors wrote.

The defendant previously was arrested for possibly driving under the influence in 2013. He was eventually convicted for reckless driving in that investigation.

Zachariah Bryan: 425-339-3431; zbryan@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @zachariahtb.