(SDOT camera image from shortly after crash)
Two and a half months after two 18-year-olds died when a wrong-way driver hit them on the West Seattle Bridge, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has filed charges. 36-year-old West Seattle resident Delfino Lopez-Morales is charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and one count of reckless driving. We have been watching court files closely ever since the crash, and just found the charging documents. In them, investigators say he had a blood-alcohol level of .14, almost twice the legal limit, three hours after the crash, and a THC level suggesting he had used cannabis within a few hours of the crash. Court documents add that an empty beer bottle was found in the truck he was driving. The two victims, Khalea Thoeuk and Riley Danard, both from Snohomish County and on their way to Alki to celebrate Riley’s birthday, were killed instantly. The charging documents say Lopez-Morales, driving a friend’s truck, was going 100 mph when he hit them. He was seriously injured and has been under medical care since the crash, at Harborview Medical Center until sometime in the first half of May, when he moved to rehab. Here’s the investigator’s narrative from the charging documents:
On 03-22-2023 at about 0017 hours, the Seattle Community Safety 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 /35th Ave SW, the westernmost 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) toward the bridge. The witnesses said that as the truck moved eastbound, it almost struck vehicles that were travelling westbound.
Four other witnesses/ 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 en route, 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 off its roof and doors. Ihe driver, later identified as Delfino Lopez-Morales 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 staff, Officer To was not able to perform an evaluation. Officer To 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 Toxicology 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 confidence level). The report 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 toward 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 Civic was redirected backwards about 113 feet before coming to rest in 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 travelling 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 Ave SW, he drove over concrete “C” curbing before driving the wrong way 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.
Though there was much online discussion of where Lopez-Morales might have been before heading toward the bridge, including claims that he might have hit other vehicles, none of that – nor anything else about what preceded him driving onto the bridge – is mentioned in the court documents. The court documents say he does not have a felony record, and our research hasn’t found any either. With the filing of the charges, $250,000 bail was set for when he is booked; he’s not yet on the jail register. His arraignment is scheduled for one week from today – June 15th.
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