Police seek cause of fatal crash

EVERETT — Police yesterday declined to speculate on the possible cause of a crash in which three people were killed Sunday.

Witnesses said a Ford Mustang Cobra that collided with a minivan at 23rd Street and Wetmore Avenue was exceeding the posted speed limit of 25 mph. Yesterday, police did not know how fast the car was going.

"Right now, I wouldn't make a guess on any speed, except (the Mustang was) going faster than the speed limit," said Sgt. Pete Grassi of the Everett Police Department's major-crimes unit.

The Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office identified the three killed as Cory R. Baudry, 18, Michael T. Seavy, 20, and Jenny Ann McCollum, 52, all of Everett. Baudry and Seavy were passengers in the Mustang. McCollum was driving the minivan, returning home from work.

Two other occupants of the Mustang, including the driver, were reported in satisfactory condition last night at Providence Everett Medical Center's Colby Campus. Their identities were not released by police, but friends identified the driver as Grant R. Fosheim, and the passenger as Dan Terry, both 19.

The crash occurred about 7 p.m. when the northbound Mustang entered the intersection and collided with the minivan, which was traveling west on 23rd Street.

Grassi said police had taken statements from two people in a sport-utility vehicle that was near the Mustang at the time of the crash. Some witness accounts suggested the Mustang and the SUV were racing, but Grassi said that has not been determined and no arrests have been made.

Fosheim's father yesterday declined to discuss the incident, citing advice from his attorney.

"We're still in shock," he said from the family's Silver Lake-area home. "We don't know anything."

Fosheim worked as a delivery driver at a pizza parlor near 52nd Street and Evergreen Way, where a co-worker said he had bought the Mustang about a month ago. He said Fosheim had worked an 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. shift Sunday and said he was going to a birthday party for his friend, Mike.

"He was a very good guy, a very smart guy," said the co-worker, who would give only her first name, Esmeralda.

Other friends recalled how all the Mustang occupants had been friends since childhood.

"We all played sports together, we all hung out in the same crowd," said Mitch Missall, 20. "We just lost a couple of good friends."

Missall and another friend, Ryan Johnson, said everyone in the Mustang had gone to a barbecue in the afternoon to celebrate Seavy's birthday and had left shortly before the accident.

According to the Everett School District, Baudry briefly attended Everett High School and transferred to an alternative school in March 2002, withdrawing in May 2002. Seavy graduated from Cascade High School in June 2001. Fosheim and Terry graduated from Everett High School in June 2001.

Court records indicate Fosheim was arrested in March 2002 in the 11700 block of 35th Avenue Southeast when police found a stopped car with the driver unconscious and the engine running. A sheriff's deputy turned off the engine, asked the driver for his license, then reported the driver reached into his pocket and pulled out a large bag of marijuana. A search of the car turned up more marijuana, a digital scale and about $1,000 cash.

Fosheim was charged with possession of a controlled substance and in September agreed to enter a drug-treatment program, along with serving two days in custody. His most recent court appearance had been Feb. 13, according to court records.

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com