Parents Of Man Killed In Police Pursuit File Suit -- Negligence By Officers Charged

EVERETT - The parents of a Shoreline man killed during a police pursuit over expired license tabs has filed a lawsuit against Snohomish County, the city of Sultan and the fleeing driver.

Filed yesterday in Snohomish County Superior Court, the suit was brought by James and Margaret Acheson as well as by Andrea Del Ciello, a 21-year-old Shoreline woman, who was seriously injured in the Aug. 3 accident on Highway 2 east of Sultan.

Matthew Acheson, 25, a student at the University of Washington, suffered fatal injuries when a pickup truck driven by the fleeing motorist hit a Snohomish County Sheriff's deputy's patrol car, then ricocheted and crashed head-on into the car Acheson was driving. Del Ciello and a man, who escaped serious injury, were passengers in the car.

The suit alleges that the truck driver, Daniel McGrew, 18, was driving too fast and "being negligently and recklessly chased" by sheriff's and Sultan Police officers.

According to court papers, a Sultan Police officer pulled over McGrew because his license tabs had expired. But after stopping briefly, McGrew took off and drove east on Highway 2, traveling at more than 90 mph with the officer in pursuit.

As the chase went through Startup, the officer fell behind, and soon a sheriff's deputy saw the truck approaching and attempted to pull his car out of its path, court papers state.

Tony Shapiro, lawyer for the Achesons and Del Ciello, said regardless of what the deputy was trying to do, his actions created a dangerous roadblock and helped cause the accident.

Shapiro said officers never should have gotten into a high-speed chase, endangering lives, over something as minor as expired tabs.

"It would be different if this was a known murderer," said Shapiro. "To me this is like running down in a crowded auditorium and pulling out a gun and firing it."

While acknowledging that the incident was a tragedy, officials from Snohomish County and Sultan yesterday said their officers did not act negligently.

"Our officer had already abandoned the chase at the time the accident occurred," said Sultan City Administrator/Attorney Bill Trippett. "The accident was caused by the action of the (deputy)."

Said Snohomish County Deputy Prosecutor Al Gehri: "This accident would never have happened had Daniel McGrew not been fleeing a Sultan Police officer. "Our deputy was trying to get out of (McGrew's) way . . ."

Authorities learned McGrew was driving a stolen pickup and had a criminal history as a juvenile. In October, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and vehicular assault. He now is serving a 14-year prison sentence.