$850,000 paid by state in fatal crash

According to Seattletimes.com, the State of Washington has agreed to pay $850,000 to the estate of a woman who died four years ago in a fatal traffic collision with a man who was on Department of Corrections (DOC) community supervision.

Seattle police say that Gloria Daquep, 55, was killed April 24th, 2004, when Charles W. Roberson III crossed the center line of Martin Luther King Jr. Way South in Seattle and collided with her car. Roberson’s blood-alcohol level was double the 0.08 percent limit for legal intoxication at the time of the crash.

Police also say that just before hitting Daquep, Roberson was involved in a separate hit-and-run accident with a different car.

Roberson apparently had a history of driving offenses. In this Seattle Auto accident, he was seriously injured and was taken to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center. He was later convicted of vehicular homicide and sentenced to nine years at McNeil Island Corrections Center.

In November, Daquep’s family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in King County Superior Court, saying that Roberson was improperly assessed by the DOC in September 2003 and should have been given a higher rating of risk and closer supervision. At that time, Roberson was sentenced to community supervision for possession of a controlled substance. The crash was called “a tragic situation”, by DOC Secretary Eldon Vail.

“We are deeply saddened that an innocent person died as a result of this offender’s recklessness,” he said.

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