PORT ANGELES — Gene Mensik pleaded guilty Tuesday to vehicular homicide and hit-and-run in the death of Sequim resident Scott G. Franklin.
Mensik, 51, of Sequim will be sentenced July 21 in Clallam County Superior Court.
Mensik hit Franklin with his Jeep Wrangler on April 21 while Franklin walked on the sidewalk at the 600 block of East Washington Street in Sequim.
Sequim police arrested Mensik about 10 blocks away.
Franklin, 50, of Sequim died two days later at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after being taken off life support.
A portable breath tester registered Mensik’s blood-alcohol level at 0.147 percent about 30 minutes after the hit-and-run, according to court documents. The legal limit is 0.08 percent.
Mensik pleaded guilty after accepting a plea offer from the Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office that includes a sentence of 50 months in prison and requires him to seek alcohol treatment.
As part of the plea offer, prosecutors agreed not to seek an enhanced sentence.
The sentencing judge has the authority to set prison time regardless of the plea offer.
If convicted during a trial, Mensik would have faced between 36 and 48 months in prison for vehicular homicide and 41 to 59 months for hit-and-run.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
