The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
37°F
Current Conditions
Broken clouds
View complete weather report

Color Scheme

Subscribe now

70-year-old man gets 9 months in jail for seriously injuring 6-year-old in drunken-driving crash

John Lassey, 70, was sentenced Thursday to nine months in jail after pleading guilty to vehicular assault for a drunken-driving crash last summer in Spokane Valley that seriously injured a 6-year-old boy riding a bicycle. After hitting the boy, Lassey drove the Jeep Gladiator, pictured above, into a home. (Courtesy of Spokane County Sheriff's Office)
By Garrett Cabeza garrettc@spokesman.com(509) 459-5135

A 70-year-old man who was driving drunk when he struck a 6-year-old boy on a bicycle before ramming into a Spokane Valley home last year was sentenced Thursday to nine months in jail, according to the Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

John E. Lassey, who had three prior DUI convictions, pleaded guilty Thursday to vehicular assault in Spokane County Superior Court.

Lassey was driving a Jeep Gladiator the evening of Aug. 5 on Calvin Road near Trentwood Elementary School when he struck a vehicle parked in a driveway, drove through the grass and then back onto the roadway, according to court documents described in a prosecuting attorney’s office news release.

Lassey then went back across the roadway, drove onto the sidewalk and struck a 6-year-old boy. Lassey continued driving until he ran into a house, finally stopping when the vehicle became lodged in an unoccupied room of the residence.

Lassey exhibited several signs of intoxication and admitted to having four or five beers 1½ hours prior, court records show. A preliminary breath test measured at 0.12, above the legal limit.

He performed field sobriety tests, which he failed, the release said.

The boy suffered a major cut to his face, a broken right femur, broken pelvis and cuts and scrapes all over his body, including tire tread marks from being run over, according to court documents.

Prosecutors argued for nine months in jail, the high end of the standard sentence range, prosecutors said. The low end was three months.

Lassey’s three DUIs happened over five years ago, so they couldn’t be a determining factor in his sentence, per state sentencing guidelines. Lassey will spend one year on probation after his release from jail and must wear an alcohol monitoring device at his own expense.

Judge Michelle Szambelan noted Lassey’s history of drunk driving putting the public at risk and her duty as a judge to protect the public in ordering the sentence, according to the release. She commended the boy’s parents, who forgave Lassey during their victim impact statement, for their “enormous capacity for grace and compassion.”