Pubdate: Wed, 05 Feb 2003
Source: Federal Way Mirror (WA)
Contact:  http://www.fedwaymirror.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2077

MAN SENTENCED IN DEATH OF HIGHWAY WORKER

A Federal Way man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for driving 
under the influence of drugs and killing a state highway worker on State 
Route 18 last August.

In December, Stig Swanson, 55, pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and 
driving under the influence of a powerful painkiller called Oxycontin, used 
to treat moderate to severe, long-term pain with effects similar to 
morphine or heroin.

The standard sentencing range for vehicular homicide is three years to four 
years, but King County Prosecuting Attorney Norm Maleng asked for an 
exceptional sentence based on Swanson's level of intoxication and the 
vulnerability of the victim, spokesman Dan Donohoe said.

Swanson told police after his arrest he had taken one of the pills a couple 
hours before he got behind the wheel of a friend's pickup truck.

Department of Transportation worker Wayne "Jake" Baardson, 50, was working 
on the shoulder of SR-18 when he was struck and killed instantly by the 
truck driven by Swanson.

At a hospital where he was taken for treatment of injuries in the accident, 
a State Patrol detective noted Swanson's eyes were bloodshot and watery and 
his pupils were pinpoints. Several times during an interview, Swanson fell 
asleep, authorities said.
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