Boyfriend Convicted In Fatal Car Crash -- Fateful Beer Party Leaves Painful Memories For Federal Way Teens

It was a high-school kegger party, no doubt like thousands of others, with beer bought by an older friend. But this one, a King County Superior Court jury decided yesterday, ended in homicide.

Brian Merritt, 19, was found guilty of vehicular homicide in the death last January of his 16-year-old girlfriend, Nicole Bianco.

In the courtroom yesterday, friends of the two Federal Way High School students listened to the verdict quietly, some crying.

Merritt, who will be sentenced on Oct. 18, faces up to 48 months in jail.

He was released on $15,000 bail on the condition he not drive or drink alcohol. He surrendered his driver's license to the judge.

Bianco died of internal injuries after the car Merritt was driving in Federal Way fishtailed off a road and crashed into a tree and rock following a party on Jan. 25.

Friends who witnessed the accident called 911 when they found the two unconscious. Merritt had consumed eight to 10 beers before getting into the car, prosecutors said.

In closing statements yesterday, his attorney argued that black ice and poor driving conditions had caused Merritt to lose control of the car.

But King County Deputy Prosecutor Michael Lang told jurors it was common sense that eight to 10 beers would affect a person's driving ability.

"Bittersweet" is how Nicole's mother, Carol Bianco, described the verdict.

She said her daughter was an avid swimmer and tennis player who planned one day to be an elementary-school teacher and this year was to have auditioned for the cheerleading squad.

"She had such an exuberance for life," Bianco said, sitting outside the courtroom.

Near her, Linda Elliott, founder of Parent Party Patrol in Tacoma, said the real tragedy of the case was that the man who bought the keg of beer for the students has gone untouched.

"You've got two lives totally destroyed," she said. Elliott said prosecutors need to start targeting the people who buy alcohol for underage drinkers.

Friends said Merritt was carrying around a large cup of beer at the party, held at a friend's apartment, and that he refused to let another friend drive for him and Bianco.

"I always drive like this," Merritt allegedly told his friend, according to the charging documents.

After leaving the party, the group decided to drive to another friend's house. Merritt led the way, speeding down a hill in a residential area of Federal Way before crashing.