A Kelso man was sentenced Wednesday to 15 months in prison for a 2013 crash that killed his wife on Interstate 5 south of Woodland.
Roger R. Haines, 50, previously pleaded guilty in Clark County Superior Court to vehicular homicide stemming from the Aug. 6, 2013, crash.
Haines was driving impaired by drugs when his 1999 Mercury Mountaineer collided with the rear of a tractor-trailer. His wife of 25 years, Teresa Haines, 46, was pronounced dead at the scene. She was riding in the front passenger seat, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Court records show that Haines tested positive for hydrocodone, methadone and methamphetamine after the collision. Washington State Patrol investigators said they also found two glass smoking devices containing methamphetamine inside the couple’s sport-utility vehicle, the affidavit said.
Haines reportedly suffers from several medical problems, including complications from diabetes.
During sentencing, Haines’ Vancouver attorney, Gerry Wear, argued that all of the drugs in his client’s system were prescriptions, except for the methamphetamine. He argued that Haines did not intentionally take the methamphetamine and said it’s possible someone slipped it to him.
Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Vu said there were some legal issues with the case, which would have made it difficult to take to trial. Instead, Haines agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a lesser sentencing range — 15 to 20 months. Vu said a prison should be able to accommodate Haines’ various medical issues.
Haines told Judge Suzan Clark that the stress of this court case has been “overwhelming.”
“The worst day of my life was losing my wife,” he said.
