Home detention ordered for teen in fatal crash

A 15-year-old girl, who faces vehicular homicide and vehicular assault charges after an April 4 crash, was ordered to home detention Friday after being booked into juvenile jail the day before.

Kaele Y. Prichett is expected to return home Sunday and will have to wear an electronic monitor around her ankle as part of her detention, said her mother, Wendy.

“We’re glad that she gets to go home,” said Wendy Pritchett, 35. “We’re relieved.”

Richard Ross, whose 14-year-old son, Richard Cameron Ross, was killed in the early-morning crash, attended Kaele Pritchett’s court appearance Friday to show his support. As did crash survivor Angela Nelson, 15, and her parents, said Wendy Pritchett.

Ross, 48, said that despite his son’s death, he didn’t think Kaele Pritchett deserved such serious charges.

“They’re really jumping the gun on that little girl,” he said.

On Thursday, Spokane County sheriff’s Detective Ken Salas said his department is pursuing the felony charges because Kaele Pritchett drove with reckless disregard for safety when she sped away from a police car – without a driver’s license – and crashed into an earth-mover at Waterworks Street and Union Avenue.

Kaele Pritchett told police that she was traveling at about 80 mph on Union, which has a posted speed limit of 25, according to court documents.

She also admitted to smoking marijuana the evening before, and results of a toxicology test showed that she had some marijuana in her system, court documents stated. Driving while intoxicated is another factor that can result in a vehicular homicide charge.

Salas said Thursday that the results did not factor into the charges Kaele Pritchett faces.

But her parents allegedly were told that if she was not intoxicated, the charges would be lesser, Wendy Pritchett said.

“We understand that Kaele has accountability for her part, but she’s a 15-year-old girl and this was an accident,” she said.

The Pritchetts and their supporters will continue to wade through the criminal justice system during the upcoming months; Kaele Pritchett’s next court appearance is scheduled for July 3. In the meantime, all involved are learning how to deal with the pain.

“You think every day it’s going to get better,” Ross said about the loss of his son. “But it doesn’t.”