The trial of a man accused of causing a crash that killed twin sisters from Oak Harbor on Halloween 2013 was continued for the 10th time last week.
Ira Blackstock, 54, of Oak Harbor, is facing two counts of vehicular homicide and one count of vehicular assault in Skagit County Superior Court.
Janeah Goheen, a 17-year-old Oak Harbor resident, died at the scene of the Oct. 31, 2013, accident on State Highway 20 near Anacortes; her twin sister, Janesah Goheen, was injured and died at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Their friend, Alysha Pickler, 18, of Oak Harbor, suffered a concussion.
Blackstock’s trial was originally scheduled for Jan. 2, 2014, but has been continually pushed forward over the past year. Most recently, it was scheduled for March 23, but was continued until July.
If the trial doesn’t happen in July, it will likely be continued to a date in September, according to Skagit County Prosecutor Richard Weyrich.
Weyrich said the charges against Blackstock were also amended to remove the prongs of the vehicular homicide and vehicular assault charges that are related to intoxication.
Toxicology results showed that Blackstock was not impaired at the time of the accident. Investigators initially reported that he may have been under the influence.
Under Washington state law, there are three “prongs” to the vehicular homicide and vehicular assault charges.
Those prongs cover driving while impaired, driving in a reckless manner and driving with disregard for others. Each prong has different standard sentence ranges; the DUI-related version is the most serious.
According to a report prepared by a detective with the Washington State Patrol, Blackstock was driving his 2006 Ford Mustang south on State Highway 20 from “Sharpe’s Corner” in Skagit County and “accelerated rapidly” as he approached the intersection at Gibraltar Road.
The car — which had near-bald rear tires — broke traction on the wet asphalt, began to fishtail side-to-side and crossed into the oncoming lane, according to investigative reports.
The Mustang struck an oncoming 1993 Acura driven by Janesah Goheen just after 5 p.m.
“The purposeful and reckless acceleration by Ira L. Blackstock caused his Ford Mustang to strike the oncoming Acura four-door close to the northbound fog line of State Route No. 20,” the detective’s report states.
Court records show that Blackstock was issued three speeding tickets in 2013.
