News

Man sentenced to prison in fatal Buckley crash

TACOMA, Wash. — A Buckley man was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison Thursday for a collision that killed his friend.

In August 2011, Ryan Bogue, 19, was driving with 17-year-old Trae-Von Norton in the same car. Bogue swerved and hit a pole, and Norton died in the crash.

Bogue fled the scene, and did not call 911.

According to prosecutors, Bogue was under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

KIRO 7 Eyewitness News was in the courtroom during the sentencing. The families of Bogue and Norton were there as well and KIRO 7 learned the families have reached out to each other over the last year.

During the sentencing, the judge came down from the bench to console Norton’s mother as she addressed the court.

“This is the picture of my son that I have on a table, and this is what I have to look at when I want to see him,” said Cherie Baldtrip.

Bogue apologized to Norton’s family and told them he was a changed man.

Lawyers said Bogue’s father offered an apology to the victim’s family before Thursday’s hearing.

Bogue was sentenced to nearly three-and-a-half years in prison for vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal crash.