Driver accused of being high on pot arrested on vehicular homicide charge

SEATTLE -- A 33-year-old driver accused of being high on marijuana has been arrested and booked into the King County Jail for vehicular homicide for an Oct. 4 accident in Bellevue in which a motorcyclist was struck and killed on a downtown street, Bellevue police said Friday.

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The suspect, Caleb J. Floyd, was initially arrested Oct. 4 in connection with the death of Blake Gaston, 23, after his vehicle allegedly struck Gaston's motorcycle on NE 10th Street and he told police that he had smoked medical marijuana two hours before the accident.  He was released from custody two days later pending completion of the police investigation and toxicology tests on his blood, Bellevue police spokesman Carla Iafrate said.

On Thursday, the King County Prosecutor's Office notified Bellevue police that it had issued a $100,000 arrest warrant for Floyd for the crime of vehicular homicide. Bellevue police arrested Floyd at his resident in Bellevue without incident and he was booked into the King County Jail on $100,000 bail.

"The investigation revealed that Gaston was following traffic laws," a Bellevue Police Department news release said. "It also revealed that Floyd showed signs and symptoms of impairment and a search warrant was obtained for his blood.   The lab test result showed he had almost double the amount of marijuana (THC) in his blood as noted under state law. The toxicology for Floyd showed his blood contained 9.8 NG of THC in his blood.  The sample was taken more than three hours after the collision.

"The legal limit of marijuana for driving under the influence, (THC, the psychoactive substance in marijuana) in Washington state is 5 NG (Nanograms).  Alcohol and any recreational or prescription drug that impairs your ability to drive a vehicle safely can be considered driving under the influence," the release said.