$10,000 ticket for driver who killed Everett cyclist

KING COUNTY -- A Kirkland man who fatally struck a cyclist on Evergreen Way last year will not face criminal charges, The Herald reported. Instead, Everett police detectives issued the man a $10,287 ticket for second-degree negligent driving.

Trent Graham, 30, was killed on Oct. 17, 2012, while riding his bicycle home from work at Gregg's Cycle in Alderwood. He was on Evergreen Way just south of SW Everett Mall Way when a southbound pickup truck drifted across three lanes of traffic, jumped the curb and struck Graham and a power pole.

Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Tobin Darrow told The Herald that there was evidence the driver suffered from a seizure, which caused him to lose control of the truck. There was no indication in the man's medical records that he knew he had a medical condition that caused seizures.

With no proof that the driver deliberately disregarded the risk he posed while driving, prosecutors decided not to pursue a vehicular homicide charge. Police wrote the man a traffic ticket last month including the $5,000 fine allowed by law for negligent driving, plus court costs and fees. The extraordinarily high cost of the ticket is attributed to a Washington law deeming cyclists "vulnerable users" of roads.

Read more from The Herald here.