A 109-mph pursuit that began before dawn on Interstate 5 near South 317th Street ended with a fatal crash and, days later, a second-degree murder charge against the driver. King County prosecutors say 24-year-old Sean Nasreldin Abdelrahman was behind the wheel of a silver 2008 Toyota Avalon when it collided with another vehicle following a chase with Washington State Patrol, killing his 23-year-old passenger, Jusstina S. Murrietta.
According to Tacoma Weekly, Washington State Patrol Trooper Patrick Homa was driving southbound on I-5 near the Orillia Road/South 188th Street exit when the Avalon passed him in the HOV lane at what troopers estimated was about 85 mph or more in a posted 60 mph zone. Homa declared a pursuit at 2:32 a.m. on August 23, and the outlet reports the chase reached an estimated 109 mph before Trooper Hencke took the lead at 2:35 a.m. in a fully marked patrol car. The Avalon eventually collided with a 2018 gray Chevrolet Malibu that had moved from the HOV lane into lane 4 and then lane 3, striking the Malibu on the Toyota’s driver side; Hencke’s patrol car then struck the Malibu as well, per the same account.
Passenger Died at the Scene, Driver Suffered Broken Arm
Murrietta, described in charging documents as a rear-seat passenger, died at the scene, the report states. Nicole Rodriguez, the 24-year-old driver of the Malibu, suffered a broken left arm. Abdelrahman was the Toyota’s sole occupant, and Homa detained him after the crash; the trooper reported six of six clues on Abdelrahman’s horizontal gaze nystagmus test, and Abdelrahman told investigators he had one drink between 11 p.m. and midnight, according to Tacoma Weekly’s account of the charging documents.
King County prosecutors charged Abdelrahman on August 26 with second-degree murder, vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, and attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, requesting $500,000 bail. As KING-TV reported on August 27, the murder charge is predicated on the legal theory that Murrietta’s death occurred during Abdelrahman’s immediate flight from the felony eluding offense. Prosecutors have said Abdelrahman has no known criminal history, and charging information alleges Murrietta was not a participant in the crime. The criminal-case allegations remain unproven, and Abdelrahman is presumed innocent unless convicted.
What the Law Requires — and What Remains Unclear
Under Washington’s RCW 46.61.520, vehicular homicide is a Class A felony punishable by up to life in prison and a $50,000 fine when a reckless or impaired driver causes a fatal collision, per the Washington State Legislature. Attempting to elude, charged under RCW 46.61.024, is a Class C felony carrying up to five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, and mandatory license revocation; the statute requires the signaling officer to be in uniform in a vehicle equipped with active lights and sirens, but does not require a marked patrol car for the initial signal. Washington’s second-degree felony murder statute, RCW 9A.32.050, allows prosecutors to charge Class A felony murder when a death occurs during flight from an underlying felony such as eluding, without proving intent to kill…