Crime & Safety

Update: Wrong-Way Driver Charged With Vehicular Homicide, Bail Set at $1 Million

Prosecutors say Michael A. Robertson was driving under the influence of alcohol when he made a U-turn on State Route 520 and began driving westbound in the eastbound lanes.

Update, 5 p.m. Friday: The 25-year-old Tacoma man accused of killing a Seattle woman in Thursday's wrong-way collision on State Route 520 has been charged with vehicular homicide, according to SeattlePI.com.

He is being held on $1 million bail, The Seattle Times reported.

King County prosecutors allege Michael A. Robertson was driving under the influence of alcohol when he made a U-turn in the eastbound lanes of 520 and attempted to drive back to Seattle.

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Moments later, his Ford Explorer collided with a compact car driven by 58-year-old Morgan F. Williams, who later died at Harborview. According to court documents, the closing speed—or combined velocity—of the two vehicles was around 100 mph.

The PI reports that police said Robertson tried to get out of his Ford Explorer after the crash, despite having a broken ankle. First responders found a nearly empty bottle of Fireball whiskey in the front passenger's seat, according to the report.

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Update Friday 4:20 p.m.: The Seattle Times tweeted that the man accused of driving the car that killed the 58-year-old Seattle woman has been charged: 

Bail set at $1M. for Michael Robertson, charged with vehicular homicide for collision on SR-520 that killed a woman. More to come.

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Original story:

The 58-year-old Seattle woman killed in a wrong-way collision on State Route 520 early Thursday morning was traveling to her job at Eddie Bauer in Bellevue, where she had worked for 32 years.

The Seattle Times reported Thursday that Morgan F. Williams worked as manager of accounts payable at the Bellevue-based retail company. She had been employed at Eddie Bauer since attending college at UW, and previously worked as its fabric buyer.

The company released the following statement, according to KIRO TV:

We are saddened to learn the news of Morgan Williams’ death this morning. She has been with Eddie Bauer for 32 years, and will be greatly missed by her friends and colleagues. We are working to support her family and friends as they receive this difficult news, and send them our deepest sympathies.

Williams died at Harborview Medical Center a few hours after her car was struck by an SUV driving the wrong way on State Route 520 near Montlake Boulevard.

The driver of the SUV, a 25-year-old Tacoma man, was allegedly driving under the influence and has been arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide. Several media outlets reported Thursday that he was awaiting trial on a pending DUI case in Pierce County at the time of Thursday's crash.

The Washington State Patrol said Thursday that troopers are not sure how or where the SUV driver got on SR 520 before the collision. Any witnesses are asked to call the agency at 425-401-7740.


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