MARYSVILLE — Bar employees asked Benjamin Morgan if he was driving home.
They were concerned he’d had too much to drink.
“It’s not that far,” Morgan allegedly said.
A couple hours later, a Washington State Patrol trooper drove past Morgan on State Avenue. The trooper turned around to stop Morgan for speeding. As the trooper was catching up he saw debris in the middle of the road. Then he spotted a man’s body.
Joshua Haggerton, 26, had been hit by a vehicle. He suffered severe head injuries and died at the scene.
Snohomish County prosecutors this week charged Morgan with vehicular homicide for the Dec. 19 crash. Morgan’s blood alcohol level was .20 — more than twice the legal limit.
The trooper caught up with Morgan a short distance away from the crash.
Morgan stepped out of the car and asked the trooper what he hit, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Tobin Darrow wrote in court papers.
The driver’s side front windshield was shattered. There was a large dent in the hood. Investigators found a bead in the shattered windshield. The bead matched the beads on a bracelet found near Haggerton’s body, Darrow wrote.
The trooper noted that Morgan reeked of alcohol and his eyes were bloodshot and watery. He couldn’t complete field sobriety tests.
Morgan told the trooper he had four beers and two shots of vodka at a comedy club in Everett before driving to Danny’s Midway Pub and Grill in Marysville. He said he had one beer there.
Bar receipts show that Morgan ordered 23 alcoholic drinks between 11:17 p.m. and 1:39 a.m. It is unclear if Morgan consumed the nearly two dozen drinks or if he was buying beverages for other patrons. About an hour after Morgan arrived at the pub, a bartender refused to serve him anymore. Later he was allowed to order more alcohol which Morgan said was for other customers, Darrow wrote.
The state Liquor Control Board on Tuesday issued the bar a ticket for the Dec. 19 incident, said Tom Dixon, an enforcement captain. The board found that the bar violated the law by serving alcohol to a person who appeared drunk.
As a first offense the bar must pay a $500 fine or can choose to have its liquor license suspended for five days. The bar has 20 days to appeal the finding.
Morgan is scheduled to appear in court later this month.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
