Driver In One-Car Rollover Gets Term For Two Fatalities

A 25-year-old man who killed two passengers in a drunken driving rollover last fall will serve 41 months in prison.

Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Connor sentenced Troy Chaffee, 25, to the high end of the sentencing range for one count of vehicular homicide.

Chaffee, who was a Salk Middle School custodian, was at the wheel of his 1978 Plymouth last Sept. 28 when he hit a dirt embankment while driving on Interstate 90.

The car rolled over and slid across the road, killing passengers Aaron Mertens, 24, of Spokane and Samuel Heywood, 30, of Deer Park.

As part of an agreement, county prosecutors charged Chaffee with only one count of vehicular homicide in exchange for a guilty plea.

At the time, Chaffee was found to have a .20 blood alcohol level, twice the legal limit.

He has been released to his parents home and will begin the sentence on Oct. 1, said defense attorney Kevin Stewart.

He had one prior vehicle violation, a 1993 drunk driving charge that was reduced to negligent driving, said Deputy Prosecutor Dianne Dougherty. , DataTimes