Driver charged in death of state trooper was going 107 mph at time of crash, documents say

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. (KOMO) — The 32-year-old man accused of hitting and killing Washington State Patrol Trooper Christopher Gadd on Interstate 5 earlier this month was charged Friday.

The Snohomish County Prosecutor's Office charged Raul Benitez-Santana Friday afternoon with two counts of vehicular homicide. Gadd, 27, was killed in a crash just before 3 a.m. on March 2 while working a DUI patrol on southbound I-5 in Marysville. Gadd was sitting in the driver’s seat of his marked WSP patrol car parked in the grass on the right-side shoulder of the freeway when the crash happened.

Benitez-Santana, who was driving the vehicle that crashed into the back of Gadd’s patrol car, is a citizen of Mexico living in the United States "unlawfully," according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ICE said Benitez-Santana "entered the U.S. at an unknown date and time, without admission or parole by an immigration officer, and was first encountered by (Enforcement and Removal Operations) Seattle Oct. 28, 2013, at the South Correctional Entity, Burien, Washington, following his arrest for failure to appear for driving while license suspended.”

According to court documents, a witness driving a semi-truck said Gadd's vehicle was "fully marked" with the lights off when a speeding black SUV "swerved and struck the rear end" of the patrol vehicle. Witnesses also reported seeing the suspect's vehicle driving “at a very high rate of speed with no lights on.”

Court documents say data from Benitez-Santana's vehicle shows he was driving 112 miles an hour, hitting the brakes just a half-second before slamming into the back of Gadd’s patrol unit at 107 mph. Documents say “Gadd’s patrol vehicle suffered catastrophic damage to the rear and driver’s side.”

The black SUV "bounced off" Gadd's vehicle and went toward "the fast lane and stopped," according to court documents. The witness provided investigators with dash-camera video.

A van carrying about six people was driving in the fast lane and hit Benitez-Santana’s vehicle, documents say. The van's driver had a fractured wrist, according to the document. None of the passengers in the van were hurt.

Benitez-Santana was taken into custody and transported to Providence Regional Medical Center. According to court documents, a Snohomish County deputy said the 32-year-old man was not given any medication or blood while at the hospital.

Court documents say Benitez-Santana admitted to the deputy to "smoking a bowl of marijuana" around 9 p.m. Friday and drinking two beers prior to the collision. Court records state the suspect is also on video consuming alcohol at a Mt. Vernon bar before the crash and investigators noted “he emitted an obvious odor of intoxicants as he spoke.”

Another witness named Ali Asadi was heading home from a long day trip to Ferndale and Bellingham with his mother. The father of three told KOMO he saw a car “zoom” by him.

The Mukilteo man noticed a semi-driver stopped, trying to slow traffic and calling 911. He yelled to ask if the trooper was OK and got no response from the trucker. Asadi went to the vehicle and searched for a pulse, hoping to save him, but said it was apparent that Gadd had passed. Asadi said he couldn't leave him.

He wasn't alone, I tell you that, yeah, he wasn't alone," said Asadi, adding that he wasn't surprised to hear the causing driver admitted to smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol earlier in the evening. "I don’t know how he survived the impact; the wheels and axle came right off his SUV."

ICE provided the following dates and courts of criminal conviction for Benitez-Santana:

• May 3, 2013: Lynnwood Municipal Court, driving while license suspended or revoked, $750 fine
• May 16, 2013: Lynnwood Municipal Court, marijuana possession of 40 grams or less, sentenced to 90 days incarceration with 87 days suspended
• Oct. 6, 2014: SeaTac Municipal Court, driving while license suspended or revoked, sentenced to 90 days incarceration with 85 days suspended
• May 24, 2019: King County Superior Court, domestic violence assault, no sentencing information available

Benitez-Santana is due back in court March 26 for an arraignment where he's expected to enter a plea.

Thousands of people from both law enforcement and the public gathered on March 12 to honor Gadd in a public memorial service that followed a procession in Snohomish County.

Gadd, who began with the WSP on Sept. 16, 2021, is survived by his wife Cammryn and 2-year-old daughter Kaelyn, as well as his father David Gadd, a former WSP trooper, his mother Gillian and his sister Jacqueline, a state trooper in Texas.

The WSP said Gadd was the 33rd member of the agency to die in the line of duty in its 103 years of service.

For information on how to support Gadd's family, visit the WSP Memorial Foundation.