Michael Jordan, 22, was going 73 in a 45 and possibly chatting on a cell phone when he moved into the right lane to pass a semi on Airport Way near Boeing Field in the morning of May 30, 2013. But the semi had changed into the left lane to pass Darren Fouquette, 46, who was biking south about to cross the Seattle-Tukwila border.
Jordan pulled the emergency brake, but it was too late and he was going too fast. He struck Fouquette hard. After a day in the hospital, Fouquette died. He left behind a wife and four children in Gig Harbor.
Ten months later, prosecutors have filed vehicular homicide charges against Jordan, the Seattle PI reports. Cell phone records show he was talking on his phone “at or near” the time of collision. Combined with his very high speed, prosecutors say he was being reckless and thus deserves the very serious vehicular homicide charge.
He was arrested March 30 and held on $50,000 bail.
A Seattle driver suspected fatally ramming a cyclist while chatting on his cellphone has been charged with vehicular homicide.
King County prosecutors claim Michael Jordan hit and killed Darren Fouquette nearly a year ago in Georgetown. Investigators contend Jordan, 22, was certainly speeding and may have been on his phone when the wreck occurred.
Police estimate Jordan was speeding at 73 mph at 6:30 a.m. on May 30 when his Nissan Maxima slammed into Fouquette, 46. The speed limit in the 9400 block of Airport Way South – where Fouquette was hit – is 45 mph.
Comments
4 responses to “Seattle PI: Man charged with vehicular homicide for killing Darren Fouquette on Airport Way”
Accolades and great thanks to the Police Dept for staying on this case and coming up with this charge. While it would appear that this data was available soon after the crash and if I remember they were looking for witnesses to the crash one wonders why it took so long.
To his family and friends, my sincere condolances.
Not sure what an “emergency brake” is. If you are referring to the parking brake, and Michael Jordan actually pulled it, then he also deserves to be charged with stupidity. The parking brake is typically a cable actuated brake that is connected to the rear wheels of a vehicle. Using the parking brake at speed would simply lock the rear wheels and likely cause the car to spin out of control. The majority of braking in a car comes from the front wheels, and locking the rear wheels with the parking brake is dangerous.
Thanks for the follow up on this story. I had wondered after the post last year what ended up happening.
[…] in 15 months, according to SDOT records. Two people were struck and killed in May 2013, including Darren Fouquette May 30 on Airport Way near the border with Tukwila and Lance David May 1 on E Marginal […]