Federal Way man charged in Kent I-5 crash that killed passenger

A Federal Way man was charged with vehicular homicide and two counts of vehicular assault following a crash that killed his passenger.

King County prosecutors filed the charges against Francisco Ivan Garcia-Barragan, 32, after he allegedly drove under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug on Dec. 11, according to charging documents. These charges followed a Dec. 8 crash just north of State Route 516 in Kent along northbound Interstate 5 in which he killed a passenger in his vehicle, then injured two people in another vehicle when he left his vehicle in the road with the lights off.

According to documents, at about 4 a.m. Dec. 8, Garcia-Barragan was driving southbound I-5 in the HOV with Birsan Cruz-Ramirez when Garcia-Barragan failed to maintain control of his car and struck the Jersey barrier. This caused his car to flip upside-down, spin on its roof and eject Cruz-Ramirez. Cruz-Ramirez died of multiple blunt force injuries, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Documents state that after his ejection, Cruz-Ramirez slid on the ground, causing a massive neck fracture, as well as multiple abrasions to his upper torso, injuries consistent with being ejected from the vehicle. Paramedics on the scene reported that upon arrival, Cruz-Ramirez had no pulse, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The documents state that Garcia-Barragan exited the car and ran into the bushes off the road, but did not contact the police. Documents state that he did not activate hazard lights or any other lights on the vehicle, causing another vehicle to strike his vehicle. An occupant of the vehicle who struck Garcia-Barragan’s vehicle suffered a torn aorta, requiring emergency surgery, and the other occupant suffered a fractured leg.

The documents state that about 15 minutes after a Washington State Patrol trooper arrived on the scene, Garcia-Barragan, covered in blood, walked up to the scene and informed troopers that he was a passenger. However, documents state that evidence such as the seatbelt mark, seat position and key fob in his pocket shows that Garcia-Barragan reportedly was the driver, but he blamed his obviously deceased passenger. Additionally, the documents state that Garcia-Barragan is just 5 feet tall, which was consistent with the position of the driver’s seat, which was pulled forward to the steering wheel, and Cruz-Ramirez was 5 feet 7 inches tall, which was consistent with the position of the passenger seat.

The documents state that Garcia-Baragan had bloodshot, watery eyes and had an obvious odor of intoxicants coming from his breath. The documents state that Garcia-Barragan refused to submit a voluntary preliminary breath test, but a search warrant to extract and test his blood was approved.

According to the documents, Garcia-Barragan’s vehicle was not equipped with an ignition interlock device as was required due to his prior impaired driving conviction, and he was unlicensed to drive.

According to the state Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention’s online portal, Garcia-Barragan was booked into the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent at 6 a.m. Dec. 8 and remains while held on a $75,000 bail. Garcia-Barragan’s next court appearance is an arraignment hearing on Dec. 23.