LONGVIEW — A Chehalis woman pleaded guilty Wednesday in Cowlitz County Superior Court to multiple charges — including vehicular manslaughter — over a 2022 single-vehicle crash that killed two people and injured two others.
Wearing all black with white Nikes, Sophie Elizabeth Forsberg-Crotty, 21, pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide, two counts of vehicular assault, driving under the influence, and reckless driving.
Forsberg-Crotty was sentenced to eight years and six months in state prison, plus 12 months of community custody. Her driver’s license will also be revoked. Judge Thad Scudder also installed a 10-year no-contact order between Forsberg-Crotty and the surviving victims.
According to the probable cause statement, on May 8, 2022, sometime after 12:45 a.m., Forsberg-Crotty, who was 20 at the time, was driving around 61 mph, while the posted speed limit was 35 mph, westbound in the 4600 block of Pacific Way near Longview Hieghts.
Forsberg-Crotty’s blood alcohol concentration was 0.068%, the report states, and there presence of THC in her system. The legal blood alcohol concentration in Washington state for people under 21 is 0.02%.
The report states her 2010 Toyota Scion failed to make a curve, then crossed into the opposite lane, left the roadway, soared 60 feet in the air, and fell 10 feet onto a field before crashing into a tree. She had four passengers.
The front passenger died on impact, and another passenger in the rear middle seat died at the scene. The two other passengers suffered severe injuries that required medical attention, according to the report.
Forsberg-Crotty said she sustained injuries that left her unable to remember the events of the crash.
One of the surviving victims told authorities they believed Forsberg-Crotty was driving at least 70 mph on several occasions on the night of the crash, according to the report. The same passenger told police Forsberg-Crotty stated she felt “buzzed,” the report continues.
Friends and family members of the victims provided impact statements before the court Wednesday.
Forsberg-Crotty was the last to speak, reading from a prepared statement, saying “none of this was supposed to have happened.”
“I miss them dearly,” she said of the victims who died.
She acknowledged the level of pain everyone felt in the courtroom.
“Mothers have lost sons, siblings have lost brothers, and many have lost irreplaceable friends,” she said.
