Suspect in fatal DUI crash pleads guilty
Oct 3, 2013, 9:24 AM | Updated: 12:52 pm
A repeat drunk driver accused of crashing his truck into a family in Seattle’s Wedgwood neighborhood last spring has changed his plea.
Mark Mullan, 51, pleaded guilty to five charges, including two counts of vehicular homicide, two counts of vehicular assault, and one count of violating the interlock device law. He had originally pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in April.
Reports say Mullan teared up in a King County courtroom Thursday morning. Sentencing is scheduled for November. He faces a recommended sentence of 18 years in prison.
King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg says the Legislature just stiffened penalties for vehicular homicide.
“You know, people look at that 18 year sentence and go well that’s just not enough and I agree, but it’s twice what it would have been just a year and a half ago.”
According to court documents, Mullan was driving with a .22 blood alcohol level, almost three times the state’s legal limit, when he allegedly crashed into the family.
Judith, 68, and Dennis Schulte, 66, were killed while crossing a street near Eckstein Middle School. Their daughter-in-law, Karina Ulriksen-Schulte, and 10-day-old grandson, Elias, were critically injured as they took their first walk since the baby was born.
The Schultes were retired teachers from Kokomo, Ind., who had recently moved to Seattle.
Mullan was driving without a valid license and without a court-ordered ignition interlock device at the time of the crash in the same truck he was arrested for driving drunk Dec. 25 in Seattle.
He had three prior convictions for DUI and a pending DUI case in Snohomish County.
Baby Elias continues to recover and is being cared for by his father, Dan, at home. Ulriksen-Schulte remains at a rehabilitation facility in Seattle and has trouble walking and talking.
“Elias, the son, is facing a surgery,” says Satterberg. “His vision is not where it should be. His mother is still in the hospital. Dan is really trying to hold it all together.”
The Schulte family has filed $45 million in claims against the City of Seattle, arguing it failed to supervise Mullan.
The claims include damages for physical, mental and emotional injuries, plus medical expenses and wage losses for Ulriksen-Schulte and her son, the estates of Dennis and Judy Schulte, Ulriksen- Schulte’s husband, Dan, and his sister, Marilyn Schulte.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
