Man, grandson charged in fatal crash caused by unsecured load

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

A young man and his grandfather are the first people in Washington to face criminal charges under a new law punishing drivers who don't tie down a load in their vehicle, leading to a deadly accident.

Brian Campbell, 21, and William Clark, 77, were charged with the gross-misdemeanor crime Tuesday for an Aug. 18 wreck that killed Gavin Coffee, a 43-year-old husband and father, on Interstate 5.

King County prosecutors say a metal shelving unit flew from the back of Clark's pickup truck -- which Clark had helped load but Campbell was driving -- and caused a four-car crash near Shoreline as drivers swerved to get out of the way.

"When we lobbied for this law, it was our hope that we would never have to use it," Prosecutor Norm Maleng said Tuesday in a written statement.

"Unsecured loads are a hazard to everyone on the road," he said.

Campbell and Clark did not know the shelves had fallen out until they stopped to have lunch and a witness told them what happened, according to court documents.

The two men were charged under "Maria's Law," named for a Renton woman who was blinded when a piece of particleboard smashed through her window more than two years ago on I-5.

Maria Federici's family and friends pushed to increase penalties for unsecured loads. Now if an item falls from a vehicle and hurts or kills someone, the driver could face up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine.

In the case of Campbell and Clark, however, prosecutors don't plan to seek jail time.

They want the men to pay a fine and do community service at the Maria Federici Foundation, which encourages lawmakers and authorities "to establish and enforce laws that result in safer roads."

Coffee had four children and a fifth on the way with his wife, Heidi, who is five months pregnant.

The Shoreline man had worked various jobs over the years, including at Microsoft Corp., KCTS Public Television and as the children's ministries pastor for his Seattle church, said Curtis Sharp, who said Coffee was his best friend and the best man at his wedding.

"He's always been spectacular with kids," Sharp said. "He was just amazing. He was my spiritual mentor."

Sharp said he was "indifferent" about the two men facing criminal charges in the crash. "It was just a mistake that anyone could have made."

After learning of the accident, Clark called 911 to report that he'd lost the shelving unit that caused it. The Everett man later explained that he didn't tie down the shelves because he was in a hurry to get home to take his wife to a doctor's appointment, according to the State Patrol.

Campbell's eyes welled with tears when a detective questioned him. The Lake Forest Park man said the shelving unit was too big to fit inside the truck's bed and was hanging over the tailgate by about a foot, court papers say.

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