Driver In Fatal Crash Gets 36-Month Term

A Spokane man has been sentenced to 36 months in prison for causing the death of a friend during a high-speed collision last year.

Cephas Parham, 20, was the driver of a 1979 Olsmobile Cutlass that police said was going 60 miles per hour when it collided with two other vehicles at the intersection of Maxwell and Howard on April 26.

One of his passengers, Charles Mullen, 27, suffered fatal chest injuries.

Parham had a .16 blood-alcohol level, according to police reports. The legal limit is .10.

He originally was charged with vehicular homicide caused by driving while intoxicated. He agreed to plead guilty to a lesser version of that crime - vehicular homicide caused by disregard for the safety of others.

Parham also pleaded guilty to felony hit-and-run instead of three original vehicular assault charges. The accident caused extensive injuries to two other passengers in Parham’s car and the driver of one of the vehicles he struck.

The hit-and-run sentence of 17 months runs at the same time as the homicide term.

Spokane County Superior Court Judge Ken Kato agreed with defense attorney requests that Parham be allowed to serve his term on work duty at the state’s McNeill Island facility.

That option, available only for those not convicted of violent crimes, means Parham could be released in 12 months, said Assistant Public Defender Stephen Heintz.

Parham had been driving with a suspended license at the time of the accident.

, DataTimes