The Washington State Patrol has recommended that a Woodinville man be charged with vehicular homicide for his part in a fatal road rage crash.
The June 2 crash killed David A. Burelison, 40, of Mill Creek.
County prosecutors will decide if the 22-year-old man will be charged with vehicular homicide. The man’s name is not being used because he hasn’t been charged.
The deadly crash happened on a busy stretch of southbound I-405 north of the Highway 527 interchange.
Burelison had been speeding and weaving in and out of traffic and pulled in behind the Woodinville man, who tapped on his brakes, the State Patrol said.
Burelison pulled around the other driver and hit his brakes, the patrol said. The two cars collided, and Burelison’s Blazer rolled over several times. He died at the scene.
The crash was caused by a “classic case of road rage and aggressive driving,” State Patrol trooper Lance Ramsay said.
Court records revealed that both men had a long list of traffic violations, including reckless driving. Both were driving with suspended licenses the day of the accident.
Burelison had at least 22 traffic-related violations, and the other driver had been cited for 10 traffic violations.
The State Patrol has been working to stop aggressive driving, including using undercover cars to catch reckless drivers. Statewide, troopers wrote 5,849 tickets for negligent driving from January 2002 to March 2003 – a 20 percent increase from the previous year and a half.
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