A 25-year-old Kent man received a prison sentence of nine years after he crashed a car last May along Interstate 5 in Seattle that killed a Federal Way woman riding in the vehicle and injured three other passengers.
Aneet Chandra was sentenced Jan. 10 in King County Superior Court to one count each of vehicular homicide, vehicular assault and reckless endangerment, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Chandra pleaded guilty to the charges in October.
Chandra drove at speeds of more than 80 mph when he lost control of his car and crashed into a guardrail May 1 near the West Seattle exit while southbound on I-5 near downtown, according to charging papers. He was driving from the University District to Federal Way with six passengers in his 1992 Cadillac Eldorado. He was reportedly speeding and weaving around traffic before the 11:50 p.m. single-car wreck.
Chandra pleaded guilty to one count of vehicular homicide for the death of Asha Salim, 20, of Federal Way. Salim sat on the lap of a man in the back seat and was ejected from the car. She died at the scene.
As Chandra drove along the freeway, a front-seat passenger reportedly passed or showed a cellphone to Chandra that had a photo of a scantily clad woman. That allegedly distracted the driver and he lost control. The front-seat passenger suffered serious head trauma.
Chandra told State Patrol troopers he didn’t think he had that much to drink. Troopers noted they could smell a strong and obvious odor of intoxicants coming from Chandra’s breath. The group had been at a house party that included some drinking of alcohol. Witnesses saw Chandra take at least of couple of shots of vodka.
Two passengers were seated on the laps of other passengers in the back seat, according to charging papers. Paramedics transported the driver and five injured passengers to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Chandra was treated and released after two days in the hospital. Officers transported him to the county jail.
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