A Sedro-Woolley man has pleaded not guilty to vehicular homicide and assault charges in connection with a Halloween night crash that killed a Sumas girl and injured three members of her family in rural Whatcom County.
Tyler Patton Higdon, 30, appeared at a Whatcom County Superior Court arraignment where charges were filed Friday morning. Higdon appeared by video from the Whatcom County Jail, where he is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.
Higdon is suspected in the drunken-driving death of Yaretzi Davila-Estrada, 11, who was riding in a Ford Focus that authorities said Higdon hit broadside in a 2008 BMW, according to court documents.
The Focus was turning left onto Goodwin Road from South Pass Road about 6 .m. Oct. 31 and Higdon was eastbound on South Pass Road east of Everson, the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
According to court documents, Higdon was driving at an estimated 100 mph where the speed limit is 50 mph.
Davila-Estrada was in the rear passenger side that took the full force of the impact, the Whatcom County County Medical Examiner's Office told The Bellingham Herald.
Three other people in the car were injured in the crash, including one who suffered critical injuries.
Higdon failed a field-sobriety test and his blood alcohol content measured 0.11 more than an hour after the crash, according to a probable cause statement. A reading of 0.08 is the legal limit.
A warrant was obtained to draw blood, and toxicology results are pending, according to court documents.
Court Commissioner Lisa Keeler set a jury trial for Dec. 30 in a hearing that lasted barely a minute.
Davila-Estrada family members attended the hearing but asked for privacy.
A GoFundMe page for Yaretzi had raised more than $40,000 by Friday.
"As we navigate this unimaginable grief and focus on the healing of her siblings, we are reaching out to our community for support during this incredibly difficult time," the family said online.
Yaretzi, whose name comes from the Aztec phrase "You will always be loved," was described online as a bright and cheerful girl.
"Your kindness, generosity, and heartfelt messages have been a testament to the many lives Yaretzi touched," the family said in a statement at the GoFundMe page.
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