The family of an 83-year-old Lynnwood woman who was killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 525 is suing Snohomish County, alleging law enforcement failures allowed a dangerous situation to spiral into the fatal collision.
A wrongful death lawsuit filed in May and recently moved to Seattle federal court claims members of the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and the Snohomish County Violent Offenders Task Force repeatedly failed to follow proper police procedures while trying to arrest Robert Craig Rowland in April 2024.
The complaint alleges those failures “could and should have been contained through reasonable measures” but instead “deteriorated into an unnecessarily dangerous and foreseeable sequence of events.”
Woman Was Driving Home From Church
Trudy Slanger was driving home from church on the evening of April 11, 2024, when Rowland drove a stolen pickup the wrong way in the northbound lanes of State Route 525 and crashed head-on into her vehicle, according to court records.
The lawsuit describes the crash as an “entirely preventable collision.”
Slanger, a mother of three, died at the scene.
Later in 2024, Rowland, 39, pleaded guilty to murder and vehicular assault and was sentenced to 27 years in prison.
Lawsuit Alleges Series Of Police Failures
The complaint alleges law enforcement had numerous opportunities over a two-day period to arrest Rowland but failed to do so. It claims officers knew he was dangerous and likely to flee but did not implement adequate measures to contain him.
According to the lawsuit, officers failed to gather information about the home where Rowland was staying, failed to identify the vehicle he was driving, failed to establish an effective perimeter and failed to use an available canine unit.
“All of these measures are standard and well-established procedures in executing the apprehension of a known and dangerous suspect,” the complaint states.
The lawsuit further alleges authorities knew Rowland was driving a stolen vehicle and had multiple opportunities to safely intervene while monitoring his movements the next day.
The complaint claims deputies had the opportunity to rescue a woman who had allegedly been kidnapped by Rowland and prevent him from driving away again.
“Rather than employing reasonable and available measures to control the situation, Defendant took no meaningful steps to intervene, allowing Rowland to once again simply drive away,” the lawsuit alleges.
Wrong-Way Pursuit Ends In Tragedy
According to the lawsuit, Rowland eventually led officers on a high-speed pursuit through residential areas and onto State Route 525 in Lynnwood.
The complaint alleges deputies failed to properly terminate the pursuit when it became unsafe and instead continued tactics that further escalated the danger.
The lawsuit claims that even after Rowland began driving in the wrong direction, officers continued “paralleling him with lights and sirens activated, thereby further escalating the hazardous and life-threatening situation.”
Less than half a mile later, Rowland crashed into Slanger’s vehicle.
The lawsuit alleges Snohomish County’s actions and omissions over the two-day period “set in motion the foreseeable and preventable chain of events” that led to her death.
Family Seeks Damages
The lawsuit alleges negligence, gross negligence and wrongful death and seeks damages to be determined at trial. The family is also seeking compensation for funeral expenses, emotional distress, loss of companionship and other damages allowed under Washington law.
The complaint describes Slanger’s death as causing “profound and lasting emotional and personal loss” to her family.
Snohomish County moved the case from King County Superior Court to U.S. District Court in Seattle on Thursday, arguing the Violent Offenders Task Force is a federal agency and that federal jurisdiction is appropriate.
Puget Press has reached out to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
Don’t Miss: Benson Boone Stopped By a Monroe Donut Shop. The Baker Didn’t Know Until It Was Too Late.
