SEATTLE — Chase Jones, who has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide for killing four people, including three young kids, was sentenced today.
As agreed to in his plea agreement, he was sentenced to 210 months, or 17.5 years.
On March 19, 2024, Jones was driving 112 miles per hour at the intersection of S 192nd St. and 140th Ave S in Renton when he crashed into a van.
The crash killed Buster Brown, 12, Eloise Wilcoxson, 12, Matilda Wilcoxson, 13, and Andrea Hudson, 38.
“For the rest of my life, I won’t know how to answer when someone asks me how many siblings I have,” Olivia Brown, Buster’s sister, told the court. “We will live forever with a big hole in the room every time we gather.”
Two other children in the van, Charlotte and Nolan Hudson, had life-altering injuries, and one adult had minor injuries.
“We will never recover from this tragedy,” said Abraham Hudson, father to Nolan and Charlotte and husband to Andrea. “We are left with lifelong physical, financial, mental, and emotional damages.”
For Rivka and Chace Wilcoxson, their youngest daughter was born in the time between the crash and Friday’s sentencing hearing. The pain of her not knowing her older sisters haunts them.
“The loss of any one of them would have been devastating. The loss of all of them at once is unspeakable,” Rivka said. “My longing for them is like a heavy, cumbersome burden that I can’t put down, always in the way, making everything feel difficult.”
According to court documents, this was the third vehicle that Jones had totaled in a speeding crash in the last 11 months. He was 18 years old at the time of the deadly crash.
Chace Wilcoxson fought for consequences “not because of hate or vengeance, but because those consequences are necessary for this change.”
“Like the parent he so desperately needs, [Judge Mark Larrañaga] must decide how best to help him reform. I don’t want another life destroyed. There’s been too much of that,” he added.
Jones unexpectedly changed his plea to guilty earlier in April.
He has pleaded guilty to four counts of vehicular homicide and two counts of vehicular assault.
“I don’t know what it’s like to lose someone close to you, let alone a family member, I can’t even begin to imagine the pain of it all,” Chase Jones wrote in a letter read to the court by his defense attorney.
“I made poor and selfish choices by ignoring my problems, by speeding. Truth is, I was addicted to speed, but not because of an adrenaline rush, or excitement, or any of that. I used speed as a tool to ignore my problems,” Jones wrote.
ALSO READ: Deadly Renton accident raises question - should teens have ‘speed limiters’ in their vehicles?
Vehicular homicide is a class A felony, which carries a life sentence. However, sentencing in Washington is mandated according to the sentencing grid set by state lawmakers – and standard range penalties are very different than the maximum.
“Statewide sentencing ranges are determined by an offender score, which can be based on previous criminal history and current offenses. Chase Jones had no traffic infraction history and had no pending charges at the time of this crash. His convictions as charged today give him an offender score of 10,” said the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Impacts of the crash
HB 1596 – also called the Andrea Smith Hudson Act in memory of one of the victims in this crash – is a bill making its way through the Washington State Legislature right now. The bill addresses speeding drivers and importantly will mandate the use of intelligent speed accessory devices that are akin to ignition interlock devices for alcohol impairment. These devices would limit a driver from going more than 10 mph over any posted speed limit. Virginia became the first state to mandate this safety item, and King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion is hopeful this bill will help reduce speed-related crashes and serious injuries.
Part of Jones’ plea includes his agreement to require a speed-limiting device on any vehicle he drives in the future.
HB 1596 passed the State House last month and had a hearing Monday in the Senate’s Committee on Transportation. Andrea Hudson’s father testified in the House and Senate Public Hearings. Amy Freedheim, Chair of the Felony Traffic Unit and one of the prosecutors on Jones’ case, helped shape the Bill and testified in support.
Since this tragedy, many who live near the intersection have voiced outrage to King County leadership about how dangerous that stretch of road can be for everyone.
Councilmember Reagan Dunn represents the district where the crash happened and has spearheaded many efforts to find ways to improve road safety. He told KIRO 7 that they have reduced the speed on that stretch of road from 40 to 35 mph, added pylons in the medians, and placed at least five radars tracking people’s speed.
He says he also plans to introduce the idea of putting roundabouts near the intersection where the crash happened, too.