EVERETT—A jury delivered a guilty verdict on June 4, 2025, convicting Raul Benitez-Santana, 33, of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault in the death of Washington State Patrol (WSP) Trooper Christopher Gadd. The decision, reached after just two hours of deliberation, marks a somber milestone in a case that has gripped the region since the fatal crash on Interstate 5 in March 2024.

Trooper Gadd, a 27-year-old husband and father, was killed in the line of duty on March 2, 2024, while parked on the shoulder of southbound I-5 near Marysville. Benitez-Santana, a Lynnwood resident, was driving a GMC Yukon Denali at a staggering 112 mph, under the influence of alcohol and marijuana, when he veered onto the shoulder and struck Gadd’s parked patrol cruiser, killing him instantly and sending Be

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