‘What’s stopping him from doing it again?’ Teen in Renton fatal crash enters plea from hospital

SEATTLE — The 18-year-old man accused in a high-speed Renton crash that killed three children and a mother pleaded not guilty on Monday.

Chase Jones appeared from his hospital bed. He faces four counts of vehicular homicide, two counts of vehicular assault and one count of reckless driving.

The victims were Eloise Wilcoxson, 12, Buster B. Brown, 12, and Matilda Wilcoxson, 13 and Andrea Hudson, 38.

In court on Monday, two of the victims’ families said they forgive him but want to see accountability.

“It’s egregious, it’s not a typical teenager who likes to see how fast his car goes. This is beyond normal behavior, and the repeat nature of these incidents, to me, demonstrate an unwillingness to change and learn from past mistakes,” said Jaron Brown, the father of Buster.

Jones, who has two broken arms and legs, is recovering from the horrific crash on Mar. 19 on 140th Avenue and 192nd Street.

“This is an allegation is, my client may have made a dumb mistake in driving above the speed limit. That’s the allegation,” said defense attorney Brad Barshis.

Newly released video shows the moments Jones’ car allegedly sped 112 mph before plowing into the car with three kids and a mother.

“It’s to be noted that it’s not that my client is out there just terrorizing the streets,” Barshis said.

Investigators say this is not the first high-speed crash for Jones. Court documents reveal it’s his third totaled car in just 11 months.

“We have contact with a Mercedes driver whose car was totaled in very similar circumstances almost a year before this,” said the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

An incident that happened in May 2023 was captured on this bodycam video. It appears Jones was the other driver involved.

“All I saw was lights and I was hit,” said the victim involved in the May crash. He wanted to remain anonymous.

“I just remember being incredibly just frantic mind frazzled,” he said.

After finding out Jones is accused of this deadly crash in Renton, he believes more needs to be done to keep Jones off the streets.

“I think incredibly dangerous being that if he doesn’t learn this time, you know, what’s stopping him from doing it again? And causing more horrific incidents,” he said.

Jones will be held on $100,000 bail.

If he posts 10% of the bail amount, which is $10,000, he’ll be released on house arrest and be restricted from driving.

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