Wrong-way driver in deadly 520 DUI crash sentenced to 10 years

A drunk driver who drove the wrong way on SR 520 and killed a Seattle woman was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison.

Michael Anthony Robertson, 25, of Tacoma, smashed head on into Morgan Fick Williams, 58, in the early morning hours of April 4.

His sentence was six months less than the maximum sentence of 126 months. King County Superior Court judge Bruce Heller said he opted for the sentence because Robertson pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and spared the victim’s family a lengthy trial, Prosecutor Amy Freidheim tells KIRO Radio.

Robertson was driving his 1996 Ford Explorer westbound in the eastbound lanes of SR 520 near the University of Washington when he smashed into William’s 2003 Mazda Protege at a force equivalent to 100 miles per hour.

“Ms. Williams was trapped in her vehicle with catastrophic leg and pelvic injuries,” court documents read. “The steering wheel was pushed to her neck, the dash against her body.”

Witnesses rushed to the aid of Williams and Robertson, who repeatedly tried to exit his car and “go home.”

Robertson told troopers he had two drinks with friends at a club, but believed he had been drugged. A nearly empty bottle of Fireball cinnamon whiskey was found on the passenger seat of his car, according to the documents.

“He talked about having been up on Capitol Hill and having been drinking,” said Det. John Anderson with the Washington State Patrol. “I doubt that he actually knew the severity of the injuries he caused to the other driver.”

Williams was on her way to work in Bellevue at Eddie Bauer’s corporate headquarters.

At the time of the crash, Robertson was awaiting trial for a DUI hit and run collision that occurred in Tacoma on Dec. 15, 2012. According to documents obtained by KIRO Radio, Robertson and a male passenger crashed into the back of a vehicle stopped at a red light on Portland Ave.

Previous reporting by Brandi Kruse is included in this report