Man charged with vehicular homicide in death of 12-year-old Kent boy

A 19-year-old Maple Valley man faces charges of vehicular homicide and reckless driving after he allegedly hit a 12-year-old Kent boy riding his scooter back home from a park.

Carson Alexander Quinlin also faces a possession of a pistol by a person under 21 after Kent Police reportedly found a gun on the floorboard of his vehicle, according to charging papers filed July 14 by King County prosecutors.

Gabriel Coury was riding his scooter on the shoulder along 132nd Avenue SE near SE 230th Street just before 7 p.m. on July 11 when Quinlin, reportedly driving drunk and as fast as 60 mph in a 35 mph zone, hit Gabriel with his Chevrolet Silverado pickup, according to court documents.

Gabriel was returning from a park where he had met with several friends. He was nearly home, according to charging papers. His mother was in the yard when she heard the crash.

Just prior to the crash, Quinlin reportedly crossed the double yellow centerlines southbound in the oncoming northbound lane to pass a car in front of him in a no passing area. When he returned to the right, he failed to maintain control of his truck, drifted to the shoulder where he struck a parked car and Gabriel, according to charging documents.

Quinlin’s truck continued out of control, hit another parked car and ended up down a ditch into a fence and 180 degrees turned around. He had three passengers with him but nobody in the pickup was injured.

Quinlin told officers he was with his girlfriend and two other friends after spending the afternoon at the Cedar River and was taking them home. He later admitted to detectives that he had been drinking several alcoholic beverages and was intoxicated, according to court documents.

Quinlin agreed to a portable breath test (PBT) which indicated his alcohol level was twice the legal limit, according to charging papers. A search warrant to extract and test his blood was approved. Those results are pending with the state Toxicology Lab.

Quinlin is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. Thursday, July 27 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. As of July 17, he remained in custody at the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle with bail set at $100,000.

Should Quinlin post bail, the state recommends to the judge electronic home detention with alcohol monitoring.

According to court documents, Quinlin has a pending arraignment for a harassment charge in King County in November 2022 and a traffic history that includes speeding 20 mph over on April 17, 2023 and speeding 29 mph over on Oct. 8, 2020.

Quinlin told police he had attempted suicide last year by crashing his car, according to charging papers. On June 23, 2022 he was involved in a one-car crash with injuries.