Lawsuit filed against driver in fatal North Whidbey crash

The estate of a British Columbia man who was one of three people killed in a 2010 car crash on North Whidbey filed a lawsuit against the driver who caused the tragedy.

Attorneys for Jon Harbut filed the lawsuit against Oak Harbor resident Jordyn Weichert in Island County Superior Court March 6. Harbut is the personal representative of the estate of the late Brian Wood, his wife Erin Wood and their daughter.

The lawsuit asks for an undisclosed amount of money for Weichert’s negligence in causing the collision that killed Brian Wood, seriously injured his wife and their unborn baby girl.

Weichert is serving an eight-year sentence and recently lost an appeal. She was convicted of three counts of vehicular homicide and two counts of vehicular assault in a 2011 trial.

Weichert was 20 years old at the time of the crash. She was driving Chevrolet Blazer when she asked the front-seat passenger, Samantha Bowling, to hold the wheel while she put on a sweater. They lost control of the vehicle, causing it to veer into the oncoming lane.

The Blazer struck the Woods’ Subaru, killing him and injuring his pregnant wife.

Two passengers in Weichert’s vehicle were also killed. They were 25-year-old Jacob Quistorf and 26-year-old Francis Malloy, both of Oak Harbor. Bowling suffered a fractured hip.

Toxicology results showed that Weichert had allegedly used heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana prior to the crash, but the judge ruled that the prosecutor didn’t prove the drugs were a cause of the collision.

Bowling pleaded guilty to three counts of vehicular homicide; she was sentenced to five years and one month in prison.

Bowling isn’t named as a defendant in the lawsuit, but it states that the estate reserves the right to amend the complaint to add additional parties.

 

Contact Whidbey News Times Assistant editor Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewsgroup.com or 360.675.6611 ext. 5056.

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