A 17-year-old Everett teenager pleaded guilty Thursday to three counts of vehicular homicide, even though the vehicle he was racing through Everett streets wasn’t involved in the fatal crash.
Joseph Dale Hecht sat in Snohomish County Juvenile Court and three times told Judge Gerald Knight he was "guilty" in the Feb. 23 crash that took the life of a 52-year-old antiques dealer and two young people.
Hecht told the judge he was engaged in high-speed driving with Grant Raymond Fosheim, 20, of Everett, whose 1994 Ford Mustang was the one that plowed into a van driven by antiques dealer Jenny McCollum, 52, of Everett.
Fosheim also is charged with vehicular homicide and vehicular assault, and his trial is pending in adult court.
Hecht’s sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 4. Knight delayed sentencing until after lawyers figure out his sentencing range under state law.
Knight asked deputy prosecutor Tim Geraghty and defense lawyer Karen Halverson to research the law, even though both sides had agreed to a 52-week term in juvenile jail.
Prosecutors allege that Fosheim and Hecht, who had been driving a 2000 GMC truck, were street racing following a birthday party for a friend. Prosecutors say alcohol was involved.
The racing continued until Fosheim’s Mustang struck McCollum’s van at the intersection of Wetmore Avenue and 23rd Street. Prosecutors estimated that Fosheim’s vehicle was traveling at 80 mph in a 25 mph zone.
Two people in Fosheim’s vehicle, Cory Baudry, 18, and Michael Seavy, 20, both of Everett, were killed. A third passenger, Dan Terry, 19, also of Everett, suffered a broken neck and survived.
All the youths had been attending a party to celebrate Seavy’s birthday.
In court documents, prosecutors said Hecht at first minimized his role in the car chase with Fosheim.
"After being confronted with contrary witness statements, Hecht provided a taped statement to police in which he admitted participating in a cat-and-mouse car chase with Fosheim" ending in the fatal crash, Geraghty said in court documents.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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