EVERETT, Wash. — A Snohomish County jury on Tuesday found Raul Benitez-Santana guilty of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault in the crash that killed Washington State Patrol Trooper Christopher Gadd in March 2024.
Benitez-Santana was driving 107 mph while under the influence when he struck Gadd’s parked patrol vehicle on the shoulder of southbound Interstate 5 near Marysville. The crash killed Gadd, 27, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
"Mr. Benitez-Santana had too much to drink, he mixed it with marijuana. His blood alcohol shows he was legally intoxicated," Deputy Prosecutor Tobin Darrow stated during closing arguments on Wednesday.
The prosecution argued that the intoxication combined with the high speed and location of the crash demonstrated reckless driving.
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