Driver Found Guilty In Passenger’s Death

A Spokane Valley man was convicted Monday of vehicular homicide for an alcohol-related crash last year that left a passenger dead.

After two days of deliberation, the Superior Court jury found Anthony R. Lazanis guilty of causing the death of 16-year-old Anna Sherman.

The Feb. 29, 1996, accident occurred at high speed on a curved section of Northwood Drive in the Valley. Authorities said Lazanis, a 20-year-old Spokane Community College student at the time, had been drinking.

When the Ford Bronco Lazanis was driving rolled over, Sherman was ejected and pinned under the vehicle.

Prosecutors wanted the jury to convict Lazanis of the most serious form of vehicular homicide - driving while impaired. Defense attorney Julie Twyford convinced jurors during the four-day trial that Lazanis wasn’t legally drunk.

The defendant faces 21 to 27 months in prison when he is sentenced next month.

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