The man accused of causing the crash that killed Washington State Patrol (WSP) Trooper Christopher Gadd in March pleaded not guilty in court Tuesday afternoon.
. Gadd, 27, was killed in a crash just before 3 a.m. on March 2 while working DUI patrol on southbound I-5 in Marysville. Gadd was sitting in the driver’s seat of his marked WSP cruiser parked in the grass on the right-side shoulder of the freeway when the deadly crash happened. Another driver was also injured in the three-vehicle crash.
According to court documents, Benitez-Santana was driving 112 mph and hit the brakes less than a second before the crash occurred, slamming into Gadd's patrol vehicle at 107 mph. Prosecutors say the entire incident was captured on camera from a nearby truck also on the road at the time and witnesses described seeing the suspect driving recklessly.
"Labelling him something along the lines of an illegal immigrant, an illegal Mexican immigrant and not in a kind way, and then there are comments people are posting politicizing this, being hateful, saying racist things. It’s not one article, it’s numerous articles," defense attorney Tiffany Mecca said.
Charging papers say “Gadd’s patrol vehicle suffered catastrophic damage to the rear and driver’s side.” The black SUV "bounced off" Gadd's vehicle and went toward "the fast lane and stopped," according to court documents. A witness provided investigators with dash-camera video.A van carrying about six people was driving in the fast lane and hit Benitez-Santana’s vehicle, charging documents say.
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