MARYSVILLE, Wash. — A Washington state trooper was killed last weekend by a driver who later admitted to drinking beer and smoking marijuana prior to the fatal crash, authorities said.
Trooper Christopher Gadd, 27, was parked on the shoulder of Interstate 5 in Marysville early Saturday when an SUV veered from the road and struck his police cruiser, Washington State Patrol officials said. He died at the scene.
The SUV’s driver, Raul Benitez Santana, 32, of Lynnwood, is charged with vehicular homicide and vehicular assault, according to Snohomish County jail records. He is being held in lieu of $1 million bond.
Benitez Santana was traveling south on the interstate just before 3 a.m. when the crash occurred. After he struck Gadd’s patrol car, Benitez Santana’s vehicle traveled back into the roadway, where it was struck by a van carrying six people.
The driver of the van was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, KIRO 7 in Seattle reported. The passengers were not injured.
Court documents obtained by the news station allege that Benitez Santana had bloodshot eyes at the scene. He admitted drinking two beers and smoking marijuana before the crash.
About three and a half hours after the crash, Benitez Santana’s blood alcohol concentration was just over half the legal limit.
According to CNN, Benitez Santana is a Mexican citizen who entered the U.S. illegally, though it was unclear how long he has been in the country. Along with his bond in Gadd’s death, he is being held on an immigration detainer, authorities told the network.
Washington officials said Gadd, a husband and father of a 2-year-old daughter, comes from a law enforcement family. His father, David Gadd, is also a Washington state trooper and his sister, Jacqueline Gadd, is a trooper in Texas.
“Chris’s passing is a devastating loss to his family, a family who knows all too well the risks of public service but still has offered that service with unquestioned valor and now, unfathomable sacrifice,” WSP Chief John R. Batiste said in a statement. “I can tell you that across the entire Washington State Patrol, every head is bowed, every knee is bent, and every heart is broken as we mourn this loss.”
The Gadd family issued a statement through the department in which they asked for privacy.
“We are working through what is undoubtedly the most difficult of times for our family as we mourn the loss of a loving husband, devoted father, caring brother, beloved son and committed friend. We appreciate the outpouring of support we have seen from the community that Chris loved and served,” the statement reads.
Gadd had been a trooper for two and a half years, authorities said. He is the 33rd Washington trooper to die in the line of duty.
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