BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A driver who crashed during a street race in Bellingham, leaving his passenger dead, has been sentenced.
The Whatcom County Public Defender’s Office said 27-year-old Oscar Bengoa-Alas pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and DUI and was sentenced Tuesday to 70 months in prison.
He was sentenced in the low range at the request of the victim’s family, and his term could be reduced for good behavior.
Bengoa-Alas told investigators that he had been drinking before he got behind the wheel of a car on Sept. 28, 2021. He was racing another vehicle at a high rate of speed when he lost control and crashed into a tree at the intersection of Woburn and Yew Streets. His passenger, 28-year-old Addison Parker, was seriously injured and died from his injuries at the scene.
Officers also determined that Bengoa-Alas had a suspended driver’s license at the time of the crash.