Fleeing driver in fatal wreck had life sentence overturned

Associated Press

TACOMA — The driver of a fleeing car involved in a crash that killed another man had been sentenced to life in prison after three felony convictions.

But Bruce Eric Smith, 33, appealed his "three strikes you’re out" term and got the conviction overturned because an overcrowded Pierce County court system violated his right to a speedy trial.

Pierce County sheriff’s deputies were responding Friday to a 911 call from an alleged rape victim when the chase began, sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.

Smith was arrested after the head-on collision. Killed in the crash was Russell Whitaker II, 26, of Tacoma, who died on the way to a hospital.

Friday’s rape victim was reportedly attacked in front of her 18-month-old child by a man who broke into their apartment.

Troyer said Smith was making gang signs as he was arrested and taken to a hospital with minor injuries. Detectives said he would be booked for investigation of rape, assault, burglary and homicide in Whitaker’s death, according to Troyer.

Prosecutors said they will consider charging Smith with first-degree murder, as opposed to the lesser charge of vehicular homicide, because they say he killed Whitaker while fleeing from another crime.

"This is just such a tragedy," said Pierce County deputy prosecutor Barbara Corey-Boulet, head of the felony division. "It’s absolutely devastating to everybody."

Whitaker, 26, lived with his parents in their south Tacoma home, the gathering place Friday for grieving friends and family members. A graduate of Mount Tahoma High School, he had worked at a local Burger King the past several years.

"He was really one of the good guys," said Jennifer Hiebert, a friend speaking on behalf of Whitaker’s parents and twin siblings. "He was very well-loved."

A King County resident, Smith has spent most of the past decade in and out of prison. His criminal record includes convictions for kidnapping, attempted rape and assault. King County recently issued an arrest warrant for him on an attempted rape charge, law enforcement officials said.

A jury convicted him of his third felony — second-degree assault with a deadly weapon — and he received a life sentence in March 1999.

Smith appealed, saying the court system had violated his right to a speedy trial within 60 days of being charged, because no courtrooms were available. In January 2001, the Washington State Court of Appeals in Tacoma agreed and overturned his conviction.

If Smith is convicted on any felony charges stemming from Friday’s crime spree, he again faces a life sentence.