(The Center Square) – The mother of a 12-year-old girl struck and killed by a hit and run driver three years ago was back in Olympia this week testifying in support of a bill to make hit-and-run drivers more accountable before the law.
Amber Goldade’s daughter, Immaculee, and her best friend were struck as they walked on the shoulder of a Pierce County street on the morning of Jan. 15, 2022.
The pre-teen was killed instantly. Her best friend was badly injured but survived.
During a Tuesday hearing before the House Committee on Community Safety, Goldade testified in support of House Bill 1074 that would exclude any person who is convicted of a fatal hit and run from being eligible for a first-time offender waiver.
A first-time offender waiver is a legal option that allows someone convicted of a felony for the first time to potentially receive a lesser sentence or avoid jail time altogether, depending on the jurisdiction’s laws.
“If the man who killed my daughter had been given a tougher sentence the first time, he may have thought twice about doing it a second time,” Goldade testified. “My daughter had her whole life in front of her. Thinking about the person who hit her and kept going and left my daughter’s best friend for dead in a ditch not serving much time didn’t seem like justice would be served.”
As previously reported by The Center Square, Goldade testified last year in support of the voter initiative, which was approved by lawmakers, to once again allow police to pursue someone if they have reasonable suspicion that person has violated the law.
The driver who struck and killed Immaculee had broken into a landscaping business two weeks before, but police couldn’t chase him because of pursuit restrictions in place at the time.
On July 27, 2023, a jury found 32-year-old Terry Kohl guilty of eight counts related to the death of the 12-year-old and the seriously injured friend.
“People who commit crimes like hit and run need to be held accountable the first time to possibly prevent future victims,” Goldade stressed.
Bill sponsor Rep. Cyndy Jacobsen, R-Puyallup, told fellow lawmakers someone who flees the scene of a fatal hit and run should not get off with a slap on the wrist.
“The point is that if someone kills someone and then leaves the scene, they are currently eligible for a first-time offender waiver,” he told The Center Square. “There have been several people who have gotten off scot-free for a hit and run resulting in a death. I think that action should not be eligible for that.”
Criminal defense attorney Jason Lantz testified against the bill, arguing there are cases where someone leaves the scene of a hit and run accident, but lengthy prison sentences are not warranted.
“We have had examples of people with neurological disorders like autism, who default to a script,” he explained. “I’m in an emergency and my script is I go home to get help from my family. They’re not thinking selfishly or maliciously.”
Lantz said younger drivers may also impulsively panic and drive home after being involved in a bad accident because their brains are not fully developed.
“We ask that you oppose this to give judges discretion to not send certain people to prison for 31 months when they are in those special circumstances,” he concluded.
A related bill offered by Jacobsen also got a hearing Tuesday in the House Committee on Community Safety.
House Bill 1101 would remove the option for a first-time offender waiver for any person convicted of vehicular homicide with reckless disregard for others.
“There have been 95 convictions in the last three years, 10 of which have been eligible for the first time offender sentencing waiver,” Jacobsen said during the public hearing. “That means they get up to a maximum of 90 days jail time for vehicular homicide. I don’t think that’s right.”
Amy Freedheim, senior deputy prosecuting attorney at the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, urged lawmakers to support the measure.
“There is no reason someone who causes, in gross criminal negligence, the death of another person should get a first-time offender waiver,” she said. “That should not happen.”
Lantz urged a no vote, arguing vehicular homicide should not be a “three strikes” offense.
“It is deeply racist; 4.6% of Washington is black and 40% of people who get a life sentence without the possibility of parole are black,” Lantz argued.
Committee member Rep. Jenny Graham, R-Spokane, took issue with Lantz suggesting the legislation is racist.
“This has got to stop when we are saying something is racist regarding these crimes,” she said. “I’m calling a point of order, and I’m going to keep calling a point of order.”
When a lawmaker calls a point or order, it’s essentially an objection to something being said and a way to bring attention to a potential breach of protocol.
Committee Chair Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland, agreed with Graham, cautioning those who testify from using a term like “racist.”
“There might be egregious racial disproportionalities in sentencing, that’s more accurate … rather than using a term like racist,” he said. “That’s quite a lightning rod.”