Charges filed in fatal, fiery I-405 crash in Bellevue

A fatal, high-speed crash in Bellevue last week might have been a murder-suicide attempt.

After the multiple car crash on I-405 in Bellevue last Thursday night, police investigators interviewed Samuel Sampson, 27, and his wife. According to charging documents, filed by the King County Prosecutor, she claimed Sampson assaulted her several times at her home in Woodinville before they got into her car.

She told detectives she thought that Sampson was going to steal the Audi, so she decided to “come with him.”

Sampson admitted injecting methamphetamine and taking heroin because he was “bored.”

While driving south on I-405, Sampson’s wife claimed he “flipped out” and talked about dying before unbuckling both of their seat belts. He used his arm to prevent her from putting it back on. Both told investigators that Sampson hit speeds of at least 120 miles per hour before losing control, leading to the fiery crash that killed Ian Beckford, 22, of Federal Way.

Sampson is held on bail of $1 million, charged with vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, and reckless driving. He’ll enter pleas at arraignment on Sept. 30. Results of a toxicology report are pending.

The crash closed all southbound lanes of I-405 for hours while investigators processed the scene that covered about 2,000 feet – more than a third of a mile. It was one of the largest crash scenes State Trooper Chris Webb said he had seen in his 22-year career.