Woman who drove SUV through Lake Sammamish home, killing two family members, sentenced to 6 years



SEATTLE -- The woman who drove through her Lake Sammamish home, killing two of her family members,  was sentenced Friday to six years in prison.

Tears were flowing in a packed courtroomas Carol Fedigan took responsibility for the catastrophic crash that she says haunts her every day.

“We all lost a lot in this, this has been a tragic accident," Fedigan’s daughter, Megan Berry, said.

Berry lost her husband, Sean, when her mother plowed through the family home in her SUV and plunging into Lake Sammamish. Fedigan not only killed her son-in-law but her husband, David Walker.

“Nothing we say or do can bring Sean and David back to us,” Berry said.

Fedigan admits to being impaired with a dangerous mix of alcohol and Ambien when she floored her SUV through the home with her grandson on her lap. Fedigan was trying to move her SUV in the driveway when she hit the gas pedal instead of the brake.

“The devastation to that house is unbelievable; the devastation to the family members is unfathomable,” prosecutor Amy Freedheim said.

Luckily, Berry’s young son was not hurt but Berry was badly injured.  But she showed up to the sentencing Friday to support her mom.

“I want you to know you are supported by friends and family who love you. I want you to know I love you Mom,” Berry said.

The forgiveness ended there.

“Carol killed my little brother,” David Walker’s sister, Betty Halley, said.

Halley broke down in court as she talked about the impact on the family.

Walker’s sister and his children from a previous marriage say Fedigan was too selfish to get help for her addiction.

“It could have been avoided if Carol would have accepted the help,” Halley said.

“Carol, you have managed to convince some people you are this poor, little old lady who simply got the gas and brakes confused,” Walker’s son, Troy Walker, said.

Troy asserted that Fedigan never apologized to his family or shown any remorse.

“You have tried from the very beginning to convince people you were the victim,” Troy said.

But Fedigan told the court through a letter she wrote that she is sorry.

“The hurt that I have caused is far reaching and beyond comprehension, my family means everything to me knowing how much pain and suffering I have brought to them, it feels like I am going to collapse under the weight of it,” Fedigan said.

But those words did nothing to ease the grief for Walker’s family.

“Today is the first for us to have heard of any sort of an apology,” Troy Walker said.

Judge John Chun said he felt like Fedigan was remorseful before sentencing her to six years in prison. The sentence is the strictest penalty she could have received in this case.