By Jim Haley
Herald Writer
It was a criminal case with only losers.
An Arlington man lost his life. Another was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison Monday.
Nobody intended to hurt anyone.
It was a case of bad judgment where two families will forever be affected.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Joseph Thibodeau sentenced the surviving man, Matthew Scott Evans, 27, of Arlington, to 2 1/2years in prison after he pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide.
Evans was accused of driving under the influence, speeding and passing a car in a no-passing zone when his GMC pickup slammed into a 1986 Mustang being driven by Kenneth Robert Roodzant, 46, also of Arlington.
The accident happened on Christmas Eve 2000, soon after Evans had a fight with his girlfriend. Prosecutors alleged he was chasing after her, racking up speeds of 70 mph on Highway 9 when the accident happened.
Roodzant, who leaves two children behind, hit his brakes and his car slid about 30 feet after the truck suddenly appeared in his path as he rounded a curve. Roodzant, an electrical engineer and the owner of a construction company, died at the scene.
Under a plea agreement, deputy prosecutor Randy Yates recommended the 31-month prison term, the low end of the sentencing range set by state law.
Defense lawyer Michael Brodsky asked Thibodeau to follow the recommendation.
He agreed it was a serious and tragic case. But his client left his house that night without any intent of hurting anyone, Brodsky told the judge. What he did was an error in judgment, fueled by the emotion from the fight with the girlfriend.
But Brodsky told the judge although he was following his girlfriend to her uncle’s home, he had no intention of doing her harm. He said the prosecutor made it sound like road rage, and that’s not the case.
Yates reminded the judge that the accident happened in a no-passing zone in an oncoming lane.
Evans told the judge there "hasn’t been a day gone by that I haven’t thought about" the accident. He said his words can’t express how sorry he is.
Thibodeau said there were no winners in the case. A vehicular homicide sentencing often is one of the most difficult for a trial judge, he said. The low end of the range was meant for someone without a criminal history, so he gave Evans that penalty.
The judge added that he hopes something good can come from this, such as teaching something to the children of both the victim and the defendant.
Evans will be on community supervision for three years after he gets out of prison.
You can call Herald Writer Jim Haley at 425-339-3447 or send e-mail to haley@heraldnet.com.
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