The impaired driver in a Highway 104 crash that left two other people injured admitted his guilt in Jefferson County Superior Court to vehicular assault.

Anthony M. Goebel, 28, of Kent, reached a plea agreement with prosecutors on charges stemming from the May 2019 crash on Highway 104.

Goebel changed his pleading to guilty on one count of vehicular assault. He had earlier been charged with two counts of vehicular assault and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

Prosecutors said Goebel was driving a 2006 Toyota Camry that was headed east on Highway 104 just after 2:30 p.m. May 13, 2019, when Goebel went into the oncoming lane of traffic near Center Loop Road.

Another driver in a 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck swerved to avoid a collision, but Goebel swerved back into the eastbound lane and hit the Dodge pickup.

The force of the collision caused the truck to flip onto its roof, and the Dodge hit the guardrail on the east side of the highway and came to a rest on its roof in the eastbound lane.

The driver of the Dodge, a 77-year-old Sequim man, was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma. According to an investigation report filed by the Washington State Patrol, he suffered six broken ribs in the collision, as well as a collapsed right lung and a fractured spinal bone.

Firefighters had to remove the roof of the Toyota to get Goebel and his passenger, a 27-year-old Port Angeles woman, out of the car.

Goebel suffered a serious leg injury while the passenger had broken bones in her face and internal injuries. Both were airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment.

A toxicology report by the Washington State Patrol Toxicology Laboratory showed Goebel had amphetamine and methamphetamine in his blood, according to court documents.

A background check found Goebel had previous felony convictions for second-degree assault, possession of a firearm, and second-degree escape.

During a change of plea hearing Friday in Jefferson County Superior Court, Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Chris Ashcraft repeated comments made by the Sequim man who was hit by Goebel, noting the crash “really shook him up.”

The wreck had a profound impact on the man’s physical, emotional, and financial health, Ashcraft said.

The victim still has trouble sleeping, and can’t lift his head up to look at the sky.

The man was not opposed to the sentence recommended in the plea agreement, Ashcraft added.

He noted the other victim injured in the crash did not respond to the prosecutor’s office when they reached out.

Scott Charlton, Goebel’s attorney, said his client had agreed to restitution for both victims in an amount to be determined.

Charlton said Goebel had been incarcerated in another case in King County before being transferred to Jefferson County in May. 

He also said Goebel has a place to live with family in Kent and a job waiting for him when he gets out.

Goebel wanted to take responsibility for the crash, Charlton said.

Both sides had agreed to a prison sentence of 22 months, with credit for time already served.

Before his sentencing, Goebel said he was sorry for getting behind the wheel and the hurt he had caused for others and himself.

“I’d like to apologize for driving under the condition I was in,” Goebel said. “As tired as I was,
I shouldn’t have been driving.”

He again said he was sorry for injuring the other driver. Goebel also noted the years he has spent in jail, and vowed to stay out of the situations that had put him in trouble his whole life.

“I am ready for change and ready to pick myself up,” Goebel said. “I’m almost 30 years old and I’m ready to get myself together.”

“I think I’ve got this together this time,” he said.

Superior Court Judge Keith Harper pointed out that the standard sentencing range on the charge was 22 to 29 months.

He then rejected the proposed sentence of 22 months in prison.

“I don’t see any reason to do the bottom of the standard range. I’m going to go to the middle of it,” Harper said.

The judge sentenced Goebel to 25.5 months in prison, followed by 18 months of community custody.

“Mr. Goebel, I appreciate your comments,” Harper said. “I hope, in fact, you are sincere.

Harper acknowledged the number of serious offenses in Goebel’s past.

“You are a young guy. It would be a good time to change and turn things around,” Harper said. “So I hope you can do that.”