July 16 Trial Date Set for Kelly Hudson in Fatal August Crash in Kirkland

A trial date of July 16 has been set for Kelly Hudson, charged with vehicular homicide and vehicular assault in an August crash on Kirkland’s Juanita Drive that killed 81-year-old Joyce Parsons.

The trial date, delayed several times late last year and early this year, was set Monday by Judge Ronald Kessler during a hearing in King County Superior Court in Seattle.

If convicted on the vehicular homicide charge and three counts of vehicular assault, Hudson would face a sentence of 12.1 to 16.1 years in prison, said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecutor’s Office.

before she allegedly crossed the centerline in her minivan on the night of Aug. 7 and struck a car head-on with four people in it. Parsons, who lived just blocks away from Hudson on Kirkland’s Finn Hill, died at the scene.

The three other people were all injured, at least one of them in life-changing ways. Arthur Kamm of Bellevue, 86, was at the wheel of the car hit and is now confined to a wheelchair. Joyce Parsons was his sister. His relatives Daniel and Jenny Grieshaber, 72 and 69 respectively, were also in the car.  Jenny Grieshaber continues to struggle with her injuries.

The four were returning to Parsons’ home after an evening tour boat cruise on Lake Washington.

John Kamm of Bellevue, son of Arthur Kamm and nephew of Joyce Parsons, told Kirkland Patch recently he is eager to see the trial get underway.

“I just really would like to get this trial going and let the court hammer it out so we could get some closure,” he said. “So far it’s been delay after delay.”

He said his father will never be the same and is likely confined to a wheelchair and convalescent center for the rest of his life.

“He used to be an active dynamic man,” Kamm said. “Before, he and his pals were flying their private planes a couple times a week. It’s terribly sad. The person he was before...and the person he is now are totally not the same”

Hudson’s attorney, Scott Wonder of Bellevue, on Tuesday declined to talk to Kirkland Patch. Court records indicate continuances were ordered in the case due to a heart attack suffered by a psychologist or psychiatrist who might be called by the defense.

Hudson pleaded “absolutely not guilty” and was shielded from media cameras by Wonder during her arraignment last in August.