A 22-year-old Renton man was charged with vehicular homicide and other crimes after he allegedly crashed into multiple vehicles while under the influence of alcohol.
On Nov. 3, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO) charged Jonathan Misghina Mender, 22, of Renton, with vehicular homicide, reckless driving, hit-and-run of an attended vehicle, driving while under the influence and no valid operator’s license. These charges stem from an Aug. 10 incident where Mender was allegedly speeding on Maple Valley Highway, crashed into a woman, fled the scene, then crashed into two other cars minutes later, killing a man.
According to charging documents, the crash killed James William Laremore, 68. Documents state that Laremore later died on Aug. 25 in the hospital, about two weeks after the crash. The King County Medical Examiner’s report states that Laremore’s cause of death was complications of multiple blunt force injuries, and his manner of death was accident. The location where the incident occurred was on the roadway at 140th Way SE and Maple Valley Highway.
According to KCPAO spokesperson Casey McNerthney, Mender pleaded not guilty to his charges on Nov. 17. Prosecutors asked that Mender’s bail be set at $100,000 and that, if he were to post bond, he be on electronic home monitoring.
Prosecutors requested that Mender be ordered not to consume alcohol or any non-prescribed drugs, be required to have an ignition interlock device set at 0.2, and have an intelligent speed assistance device activated in his vehicle. McNerthney said that the court imposed these conditions.
When Mender pleaded not guilty at his court hearing, his attorney requested that his bond be reduced to $75,000 bond or $7,500 cash, and the court granted their request. According to the King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention jail lookup portal, as of Nov. 19, Mender was on electronic home detention.
Details of the case
At about 6:09 p.m. Aug. 10, Renton police officers were dispatched to reports of a two-vehicle collision near the intersection of 140th Way Southeast and Maple Valley Highway. According to documents, a caller reported that a white SUV collided with another vehicle head-on near the intersection and then fled eastbound on Maple Valley Highway.
Officers viewed someone’s dashcam footage that captured the crash, and it showed the SUV, a Land Rover, was driving north on 140th Way Southeast, turned right onto Maple Valley Highway and failed to negotiate the turn. Documents state that the Land Rover then entered the oncoming westbound lanes and collided head-on with a Hyundai that was stopped at a red traffic signal.
Documents state that the driver of the Hyundai was visibly upset, crying, with her hands trembling and speaking rapidly in a loud high-pitched voice. The driver of the Hyundai complained of pain from the collision, and she was later diagnosed with neck pain, a contusion to her left arm and a sprain of her left ring finger. Documents state that she also reported psychological and emotional trauma from the event.
As officers spoke to the driver of the Hyundai, an uninvolved motorist drove by and told officers that there was a “super bad” collision just east on Maple Valley Highway involving a white Land Rover. Documents state that a responding officer believed the white Land Rover was the same one involved in the first collision.
An officer got to the second collision at about 6:20 p.m. in the 15000 block of Maple Valley Highway, about three-quarters of a mile away from the first collision. Documents state that a GMC Sonoma, a red Fiat 500 driven by Laremore and a white Land Rover driven by Mender were involved.
The driver of the GMC Sonoma stated that he was not injured, but his passenger suffered a minor head injury, and later complained of constant headaches, memory loss and confusion. The GMC Sonoma’s driver door was damaged, the skin of the truck bed was completely ripped off, and the rear driver wheel was torn from the axle.
Laremore’s Fiat sustained a damaged front driver fender, hood and headlamp assembly, and the axle of the front driver wheel was broken. According to documents, the fire department had to cut both driver doors from the Fiat to free Laremore from the vehicle. The forces involved in the collision were so great that the Land Rover and the Fiat rotated 180 degrees.
Documents state that Laremore was found seated upright in the driver’s seat, but not moving. Laremore’s head was slumped down toward his chest, and he mumbled that he had trouble breathing. The responding officer did not move Laremore for fear that he had a broken neck and moving him would exacerbate his injury.
Dashcam footage from a witness showed Mender weaving in and out of traffic as he fled the first collision, and that he was driving eastbound in the westbound lanes. Documents state that Mender, driving the Land Rover, then collided with the GMC Sonoma and Laremore’s Fiat on Maple Valley Highway. Witnesses said they saw Mender driving the Land Rover.
An officer found Mender at the second collision, lying on the ground near his Land Rover. An officer stated that Mender’s breath smelled like alcohol, he struggled to form sentences, slurred his words and wasn’t making sense. Documents state that a blood draw showed that his blood alcohol content was 0.22 and also indicated marijuana, opiate and fentanyl use.
Laremore sustained several spinal fractures, multiple rib fractures, a broken clavicle and he was paralyzed. Documents state that while he was alive, he was in and out of consciousness, and he had a severely altered mental state. Laremore then died at Harborbiew Medical Center on Aug. 25, due to his injuries.
