Teen pleads guilty in deadly crash

Carson William Sheridan provided the money last June for the keg of beer at the graduation party. He hooked up a dealer for the drugs he and others took. And he asked to drive the vehicle that crashed, killing his friend and severely injuring another.

“There is nothing I can say that will change what happened,” the 17-year-old Sheridan said, sobbing Wednesday before a packed courtroom. “I loved him like a brother.”

Sheridan was referring to 15-year-old Braydon M. Jones, who died in the early hours of June 9 after being ejected from the Toyota 4Runner that Sheridan admitted to driving while under the influence of alcohol and the drug Ecstasy. Nicole M. Crawley, 18, was seriously injured when she, too, was ejected from the SUV.

Sheridan pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and vehicular assault. When he drove the morning of the accident to get food after a night of partying, he had a previous drug distribution conviction pending, as well as a suspended driver’s license.

Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Connor first ruled that Sheridan’s case would remain in Spokane Count Juvenile Court. She then sentenced him to remain incarcerated in juvenile detention until he turns 21.

O’Connor agreed with both attorneys that Sheridan would get better treatment in juvenile detention versus the few extra months and fewer prospects of rehabilitation he would receive in adult prison.

“I don’t know what it is that compels people to get behind a wheel and drink and drive,” O’Connor said. “Until people can understand that it can happen to them, we are going to see cases like this in court.”

Braydon’s mother, Ricci Jones, played a DVD of family photos and a recording of her statement before the court.

“I keep waiting to wake up from this nightmare,” she said, as many in attendance began to cry. “What am I supposed to learn from this, and how do I go on? My boys and I were a family unit, a team. They were my light and sun. Now everything feels dark.”

She explained that Braydon’s younger brother, Cody, has taken the death very hard. She said Cody recently moved out of her home and into the home of his grandparents.

“I feel like I lost both boys,” she said. “As far as Carson Sheridan, I wonder if he will ever know what he took from me. He will be released on his 21st birthday, a day my son will never see. How is it fair to get a life at 21 when he has taken a 15-year-old’s life?”

Nicole Crawley apologized to the Jones family, saying she, too, made bad decisions that night.

“On behalf of Carson, this was an accident,” Crawley said. “No one intended for this to happen.”

Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Kim Concannon said the 4Runner was traveling at least 55 mph in a 25 mph zone when it approached an S-curve near the intersection of Rutter Avenue and Fancher Way. The driver overcorrected, hit a curb, and the SUV rolled over three times, collapsing the roof.

Sheridan had a blood alcohol content of 0.13 percent and had also ingested drugs, according to blood analysis by the Washington State Patrol.

Sheridan said Jones’ death was the “hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through. No family should ever have to go through this.”

But O’Connor had some pointed questions, asking Sheridan why it happened.

“I was careless … because we didn’t know what could happen,” he replied. “We didn’t know the consequences of our actions. We never even thought this could happen to us.”

O’Connor pointed out that Sheridan had made good progress in court-ordered drug rehabilitation after his juvenile conviction in October 2006 for distributing cocaine at school.

“How did you get to that spot again?” the judge asked.

“The teenage mind, overconfidence, invincibility,” he said. “We as teenagers believe we are untouchable. I felt I could control my addiction. I was overconfident.”

The judge then asked where he got the beer and drugs that night.

Sheridan said the party was a West Valley High School graduation celebration for three friends. Sheridan had a job, so he fronted the money for the keg and knew a source to provide the Ecstasy, “which kept us up partying all night.”

O’Connor suggested that Sheridan might get some semblance of redemption if he promised to tell his story to other teens.

“I will live up to their expectations,” he said of the Jones family, “and do everything I can to live for Braydon. I do plan to talk to people, to anyone who will listen because this can’t happen. I will do my best to keep this from happening again.”