BUCKLEY, Wash. — A 19-year-old Buckley woman was sentenced Friday to seven years in prison -- more than prosecutors recommended -- for causing a crash that killed a well-known and beloved local church pastor.
Kallie James tearfully told the judge her decision to drive while high on marijuana last November, leading to the death of 66-year-old Eric Renz, would always haunt her.
"I will always carry this heavy burden of sorrow and despair and regret for what I have done,” James said. “Not a day goes by that I don't think about Mr. Renz and his family."
James had already pleaded guilty in May to vehicular manslaughter, for speeding through a stop sign, hitting Renz while he was riding his bike, before slamming the car into the wall of the state fairgrounds in Puyallup.
Puyallup police say Renz was wearing a bright green reflective jacket.
He was on his way from working as a volunteer with the homeless, to another volunteer job when James’ car ran into him.
Renz died from his injuries after being on life support for two weeks.
Pierce County deputy prosecutor Tim Jones told Judge Stanley Rumbaugh that James changed her life for the better in jail in recent months, and he asked the judge to give James six-and a half years in prison.
The maximum could have been nine years.
Pastor Renz’s son Christopher, a prosecutor himself in Minnesota, became emotional as he told the Judge James’ real crime was the theft of a magnified life.
“In the biggest robbery of all,” he said. “She took my dad."
Renz asked the judge to give James a longer prison sentence, saying his father's life -- as a noted helper the homeless and those in need -- was stolen in an act of selfishness.
"She broke the heart of First Presbyterian church, broke the heart of Puyallup, and broke the heart of the homeless community,” he said. “I don't know what else to do judge, except to stand before you and expect that Ms. James think about who it was that she killed, and for you to think about that!"
Judge Rumbaugh told James she would spend seven years in prison for her crime.
“In the end, ‘it does boils down to your terrible choice,’” Rumbaugh said.