A man who pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide is scheduled to be sentenced, more than a year after he drove a car full of people off the Edmonds ferry dock and into the water. The case, which left two people dead, has moved toward its conclusion with his guilty plea, and a judge is now set to decide his punishment. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m.
The deadly crash happened on June 17, 2025. Investigators say William Russell Leonard drove into the water while trying to escape law enforcement during a traffic stop. Rather than pulling over, he continued toward the ferry dock and off the edge, sending the vehicle into the sound. Body camera footage from officers at the scene captured the chaotic moments as the crash unfolded and responders scrambled to react.
At the time of the incident, Leonard had several active warrants out for his arrest. That detail helps explain why authorities say he tried to flee rather than stop for the traffic stop that immediately preceded the crash. His decision to evade officers ultimately turned a routine stop into a fatal event, one that would end with a vehicle in the water and lives lost.
Five people were inside the car when it went off the dock and into the water. Two of them did not survive. The loss of two lives transformed the case from a reckless flight from police into a double vehicular homicide, and it is those two deaths that form the basis of the charges Leonard has now admitted to in court.
By pleading guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide, Leonard has accepted responsibility for the deaths in the eyes of the court and avoided a trial. The plea moves the case directly to the sentencing phase, where a judge will weigh the circumstances of the crash, the presence of the active warrants and his broader conduct in determining the length of his punishment.
The sentencing is set for tomorrow afternoon. For the families of those who died, the hearing represents a long-awaited step toward accountability, arriving more than a year after the crash that upended their lives. Its outcome will bring one of the region's most striking recent traffic tragedies closer to a final resolution, closing a chapter that began with a car disappearing beneath the surface of the water off the Edmonds dock.