Was driver who hit 12-year-old girls with truck near Parkland reckless? Jury has a verdict
A Pierce County jury on Thursday found a man guilty on all counts for driving a stolen truck off a road near Parkland last year and hitting two 12-year-old girls, killing one and badly injuring the other.
After Superior Court Judge Alicia Marie Burton read aloud the jury’s verdicts on Terry Kohl’s eight charges and the defendant was found guilty on each one, family of the victims hugged in the gallery, and some were moved to tears.
The 12-person jury, made up of nine men and three women, found that Kohl acted not just with disregard for the safety of others, but recklessly, when the GMC flatbed truck he was driving Jan. 15, 2022, went off 104th Street East and hit Immaculee Goldade and Kathleen Olson at 39 mph. Kohl then drove off and ditched the truck.
The distinction makes the offenses of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault more severe, and according to the state’s sentencing guidelines, it more than doubles the standard sentencing range Burton will consider when she hands him his punishment.
He is to be sentenced Aug. 11.
Goldade was born in Tacoma and was one of eight children, according to her obituary. She loved playing sports, snowboarding, playing games and making new friends. She was home-schooled through the St. Joseph Homeschool Program and previously attended Visitation Catholic STEM Academy.
“She loved to laugh and joke around, she was endowed with a caring spirit, a compassionate heart, and a large unforgettable smile,” the obituary reads. “It seemed that her goal in life was to have fun.”
Olson, who was described in the obituary as Goldade’s best friend, suffered a lacerated liver, a concussion, bruises and a cut to her ear that required stitches. Prosecutors said her mother testified her daughter wasn’t able to move around after the incident. It took her two weeks to be off the couch, and about a month to get back to normal.
It’s unclear exactly how many years Kohl, 33, will have to spend behind bars, but with eight offenses in this case and a prior felony conviction, it will likely be a lengthy one. The maximum sentencing range for his offense is 17 years, six months in prison to 23 years, four months in prison.
Kohl’s other convictions were for failure to remain at an accident resulting in death, second-degree burglary, two counts of unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle, first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and first-degree possessing stolen property.
Jurors also found that Kohl knew or should have known that the girls were particularly vulnerable or incapable of resistance, an aggravating circumstance that could also lengthen his sentence.
When deputy prosecuting attorney Elizabeth Dasse made her case in closing arguments Wednesday for why jurors should agree with that aggravating factor, she told them a lot of victims of these types of crimes are in cars, and they typically sustain less severe injuries as a result. She said Goldade and Olson were particularly vulnerable just for the fact they were walking when they were hit.
“I’d love to be able to tell you it’s because they were 12, or they were tiny, or they didn’t weigh very much at all, but it’s actually because they were pedestrians,” Dasse said Wednesday.
Kohl has remained in custody on $1 million bail since he was arrested by a SWAT team Jan. 26, 2022. After the verdicts came down, Kohl, who appeared for court in a salmon-colored collared shirt and dark slacks, was placed on a no-bail hold and was led away in cuffs.
This story was originally published July 27, 2023 at 6:33 PM.
