Crime & Safety

Snohomish County Man Charged in Fatal Rose Hill Crash

Patrick Rexroat is charged with vehicular homicide and reckless driving; his bail was also raised to $1 million and he is back in the King County Jail.

Patrick Steven Rexroat, a 56-year-old man from Snohomish County, was charged Wednesday with vehicular homicide and reckless driving in the on NE 85th Street in Kirkland Sunday that killed a well-known local software engineer.

Rexroat’s bail was also increased from $50,000 to $1 million, and he has been re-arrested and booked back into the King County Jail.

Prosecutors allege Rexroat was heavily under the influence of alcohol when he lost control of his Hyundai SUV while leaving Interstate 405 on the eastbound 85th exit, crashing head-on into the BMW driven by . Lacey, an employee of Google and former programmer for Microsoft and Facebook, was killed by the impact.

According to charging documents, a witness said that after the crash, Rexroat got out of his vehicle and "started pounding his chest."

He then walked toward Lacey's BMW and the witness told him "to get back. I told (Rexroat) that the driver of the other car was dead, and he said 'eh' and walked away."

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Rexroat claimed to be chasing a driver who had cut him off on 405 and admitted to a state trooper he’d had “way too much” to drink, according to charging documents. His blood alcohol level shortly afterward tested at .29—3.5 times the legal limit.

"The tragic death of Steve Lacey was not an accident," King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg said in a news release. "It was the predictable result of aggressive driving under extreme intoxication."

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Rexroat’s bail had been set at $50,000 during his arraignment Monday in King County District Court, but King County Superior Court Judge Sharon Armstrong raised it to $1 million on Wednesday.

“We had asked for $1 million from the beginning,” said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the prosecutor’s office. “So we asked again and Judge Armstrong raised it to $1 million.”

In asking for the increased bail, prosecutors said Rexroat told a state trooper while at Evergreen Hospital, where he was taken after the crash: "I can't go to prison, Just can't do it. I'll kill someone again," according to charging documents.

"Please just shoot me right here," he allegedly said, pointing to his forehead.

Prosecutors said that indicates Rexroat poses a continued risk to himself and the community.

If convicted, Rexroat faces a sentence of 31 to 41 months in prison under current state guidelines for vehicular homicide. The state House of Representatives considered raising it to 78 to 100 months during its last session, but failed to pass the bill.

"The sentence range for vehicular homicide is way too short. Three years for taking another life in such a manner seriously undervalues that life, and underestimates the extreme danger of those who drink, drive and kill," Satterberg said. "It is difficult to explain to a family who has lost a loved one in this random and senseless way that the perpetrator will face such a short punishment.”

Friends and family of Lacey, including his mother from England, attended the charging hearing. They have scheduled a memorial service for him at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at East Shore Unitarian Church in Bellevue. A reception will follow at the in Kirkland.


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