Man Gets Three Years in Prison for Vehicular Homicide | Bellevue Accident Attorney

It tears at my heart every time I deal with a family who has lost one of their loved ones in a drunk driving accident. As a Bothell car accident lawyer, I often deal with families who have suffered a devastating loss. It is outrageous that drunk drivers whose actions result in the death of an innocent victim should only face about three years in prison if they have no criminal record. Washington vehicular manslaughter laws need to be changed in order to better reflect the seriousness of the crime.

After pleading from the family, a Snohomish County judge added time to a vehicular manslaughter sentence for a man who killed a woman in Lynnwood while driving drunk. Anita Sharma was standing outside a pub in Lynnwood when she was hit by a truck driven by William Reardon, whose blood alcohol content was double the legal limit. Reardon, who had no prior criminal record, accepted a plea deal in which he faced between 31 and 41 months in prison. The family believed that this sentence was far too lenient and begged the judge to increase the punishment for his actions. Judge Ronald Castleberry in Snohomish County agreed that the sentence was too light and added four months to the sentence. This small increase showed that the judge made an effort to make the punishment fit the crime. While the family wished for a more serious punishment, they understood that Judge Castleberry had to work within the limits of the law.

Despite the judge’s addition, it is difficult to imagine that a sentence like this could provide much of a sense of justice for the decedent’s family. He essentially murdered a woman, as his negligence lead directly to her death. A punishment of about three is simply inadequate for the crime, yet that is often what those convicted of vehicular homicide face. It is time for lawmakers in Olympia and other states to make a commitment to ending drunk driving for good by increasing the punishment for both driving under the influence and vehicular homicide.

This information is provided by Straight Talk Law, where you can order free information on Bellevue auto accidents, purchasing car insurance in Washington, and other valuable legal information, offered as a public service by Seattle personal injury lawyer and author Jason Epstein and his Washington auto accident, Tacoma motorcycle accident, and King County wrongful death law firm in Seattle, Washington.