Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist charged Miguel Argueta, 26, with vehicular homicide and vehicular assault for causing a high-speed crash that injured his passenger, Ledonna Booth, 34, and killed Quinnton Dimmitt, 17. The defendant was arraigned at the County-City Building in Tacoma, and pleaded not guilty. Bail was set at $750,000.
At 7 a.m., April 25, Argueta was driving a minivan southbound on Waller Road at speeds of over 90 miles per hour. Dimmitt was traveling eastbound on 84th Street East in a small sedan. When they reached the intersection, Argueta’s minivan slammed into the side of Dimmitt’s car, trapping both drivers and Booth. First responders extricated the occupants from the wreckage and transported them to the hospital. Dimmitt died in the emergency room.
Hospital staff had to sedate Argueta while he was being treated because he was “combative and abusive.” Deputies could smell a strong odor of alcohol on Argueta’s breath. His eyes were watery and bloodshot, his speech was slurred, and he was not able to recall what road he had been on or the direction he was traveling. He told a deputy that he had a couple shots of Goldschlager that morning. A search warrant was obtained for Argueta’s blood. The results showed he still had a blood alcohol level of 0.064 more than seven hours after the crash. He also had THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in his system.
“Drugs, alcohol and driving are a deadly mix,” Lindquist said.
Investigators downloaded the data from the minivan’s airbag control module and found that Argueta was driving 93 miles per hour, 5 seconds prior to the crash. At the time of impact, he was going 73 miles per hour.
Charges are only allegations and a person is presumed innocent unless he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
