Auburn Man Gets 13 Years In Fatal Accident

A 28-year-old Auburn man was sentenced to 13 1/2 years in prison for vehicular homicide and felony hit and run in the death of an 18-year-old Kent man.

William Wayne was convicted in November of driving drunk and fleeing the scene after colliding with a car driven by Billy Finnegan in Auburn on Aug. 12.

Wayne has three other convictions for driving under the influence. During a hearing Friday, King Couny Superior Court Judge LeRoy McCullough told Wayne he would accept no excuses from a repeat offender.

During the trial, prosecutors said Wayne climbed into his Mustang while drunk, sped through a red light without his lights on, smashed broadside into a car driven by Finnegan and fled the scene.

Finnegan died three weeks later of head injuries. His girlfriend, Jennifer Sparhawk, and her sister Melissa also were injured.

The Aug. 12 accident occurred just a few miles away and five days before another hit-and-run accident, in which 14-year-old Rolando Rosario Jr. of Auburn was killed as he rode his bicycle.

In that case, Christopher Torkelson is to stand trial next month for vehicular homicide and felony hit and run.