The accident scene on the West Seattle bridge where Riley Denard and Khalea Theouk were killed by a wrong way driver. That driver has now been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide.
The man allegedly responsible for the deaths of teenagers Riley Denard and Kahlea Theouk in a collision on the West Seattle bridge on March 22 was finally charged with two counts of vehicular homicide on June 5.
He was not charged since it is the policy of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s office not to charge suspects while they are still in the hospital.
His name is Delfino Lopez-Morales. He is 36 years old.
The charging documents are linked here.
From the Probable Cause documents filed with the court written by the officer:
On 03-22-2023 at about 0017 hours, the Seattle Community Satety and Communication Center (CSCC) began receiving 911 calls regarding a wrong-way driver on the West Seattle Bridge, in Seattle, WA. The information provided was that a white 1980’s to 1990’s pickup truck was
travelling eastbound in the westbound lanes with no lights on. At about 0021 hours, a caller reported a white truck had collided with a Honda and both were on fire Two witnesses/911 callers were stopped for a red light at Fauntleroy Way SW /35″ Ave SW, the western most access point to the West Seattle Bridge. They reported seeing a white truck driving over the center ” curb that separated the eastbound/westbound traffic lanes and then
proceeding the wrong way (eastbound towards the bridge. the witnesses said that as the truck moved eastbound, it almost struck vehicles that were travelling westbound.
Four other witnesses/ 1 callers, driving separate vehicles, were westbound on the West Seattle Bridge at various points, reported encountering the wrong way truck. Some of the witnesses/drivers had to take evasive action to avoid colliding with the truck. The witness’ speed estimate for the truck ranged from 70-90 MPH.
Seattle Police (SPD) and Seattle Fire (SFD) were dispatched to the scene. While SPD and SFD were enroute, numerous motorists came upon the scene and tried to help the occupants of both vehicles. Off-duty SPD Officer Liliya Nesteruk#7489 was among the motorists. She used her police radio to notify the dispatcher that all the occupants were trapped and the vehicles were on fire. Officer Nesteruk noted that the occupants of the Honda appeared deceased, and the sole occupant/driver of the Chevrolet pickup truck was breathing heavily.
Seattle Fire pronounced the occupants of the Honda deceased at the scene – Riley Danard (driver) and Khalea Thoeuk (front passenger), both 18 years old. Seattle Fire extricated the driver of the Chevrolet by cutting oft its root and doors. The driver, later identified as Delfino Lopez-Morales (DUB: 12-24-1986) via a Washington Department of Licensing (DOL) photo,
was transported to Harborview Medical Center (HMC) with significant injuries to his legs. The DOL records showed his license status was “Not Licensed – Eligible”. Seattle Police Officer / Drug Recognition Officer (DRE) Jeffrey To #8467 was called in to assist with evaluating Delfino Lopez-Morales for impairment. Due to Delfino Lopez-Morales’ injuries and him being tended to by HMC medical staft, Officer 1o was not able to pertorm an evaluation. Officer obtained a search warrant to seize Delfino Lopez-Morales’ blood for toxicological analysis by the Washington State Patrol (WSP) Toxicology Laboratory. The blood draw was completed at about 0321 hours, about three hours after the collision. Results of the WSP Ioxicology Report indicated Delfino Lopez-Morales’ blood-alcohol concentration was above the Washington State per se limit of 0.08. the report stated ethanol was present at a concentration of *0.14 +/- 0.01 g/100mL (K=3, 99.77 contidence level)• thereport also stated a concentration of THC at *2.8 +/- 0.7 ng/mL (k=3, 99.7% confidence level)”.
Evidence at the scene indicated that this was a high-energy head-on collision that occurred in the middle lane westbound lane of the West Seattle Bridge, about a quarter mile east of the Delridge Way SW exit. The front of both involved vehicles sustained substantial contact damage as they were each pushed inward towards the passengers compartment. the debris and fluid trails indicated that Delfino Lopez-Morales’ Chevrolet pickup truck was travelling eastbound (wrong way) when it struck the westbound Honda Civic. From the area of impact, the Honda CIvIcwas redirected backwards about 113 feet before coming to rest ni the left westbound lane. the Chevrolet pickup truck continued eastbound about 122 feet before coming to rest in the right westbound lane.
Video recorded from a Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT ) traffic camera showed the Chevrolet pickup truck traveling eastbound in the middle westbound lane of the West Seattle Bridge prior to the collision. The collision occurred outside of the camera’s view. The camera was rotated and caught some of the post-collision movements of the Honda Civic and aftermath.
Based on the evidence I have reviewed, I believe the proximate cause of this collision was Delfino Lopez-Morales driving in a rash and heedless manner, indifferent to the consequences while under the influence of alcohol. At the entry to the West Seattle Bridge from 35 A v e SW, he drove over concrete “C” curbing before driving the wrong onto the bridge. He continued driving the wrong way across the bridge, past on-coming vehicles, until his vehicle collided with the Honda Civic. His manner of driving caused the death of two people in the Honda CIVIC.
I would expect that a reasonably alert driver would have noticed on-coming vehicles and at least slowed down or stopped to reevaluate their driving.
Credit: Source link
