Toppenish Man Gets 8 Years for Double-Fatal DUI Crash

A man who told authorities he did not remember details of his crash will spend 8 years in Federal prison stemming from an accident that killed two people on the Yakama Indian Reservation.

   The man was drunk behind the wheel when he crashed

47-year-old Brandon Kelly Root, of Toppenish, was sentenced yesterday by the US District Court of Eastern WA in Spokane. According to Federal authorities, he was charged with 2 counts of Involuntary Manslaughter and two counts of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury.

Just over six years ago, on June 11th, 2017 around 2:30 AM, Root was driving on Yakama Nation Tribal lands when he crossed the centerline of the highway and hit another vehicle head-on.

Get our free mobile app

Of the four people in the other vehicle, two were killed and two were seriously hurt. According to US District Court officials:

"When officers arrived at the scene of the collision, they found Root wedged in the driver’s seat of his car. Officers noted that Root had bloodshot watery eyes, slurred speech, and an odor of intoxicants coming from his person. Root was the only occupant of his vehicle, and an 18-pack of beer was located on the front passenger floorboard."

He admitted he'd been drinking earlier at a softball tournament, then later at a bar. He also told officers he couldn't recall the exact details of the crash.

In addition to the 8-year prison term, he will also face 3 years supervised parole when he gets out.