Former WWU student sentenced in exchange student's death

PETER JENSEN - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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BELLINGHAM - A former Western Washington University student pleaded guilty Tuesday, Sept. 30, to hitting a South Korean exchange student with her car and then fleeing the scene.

Un Kyu Choi, 25, had been in the United States less than a day before Ashley Wick struck him Jan. 7 in a bike lane on the 2700 block of Bill McDonald Parkway. Choi and a friend had been walking back to his dormitory on Western's campus, where he was to study English literature for the quarter.

Choi died of severe head injuries Jan. 10.

Wick, 21, pleaded guilty in Whatcom County Superior Court to one count of vehicular homicide and was sentenced to three years in prison. According to court documents, she had been under the influence of alcohol and prescription Xanax when she hit Choi with her van.

She stopped the vehicle briefly as Choi's friend ran to his side, but then she drove off.

Choi's father, Won Ho Choi, and younger brother, Jin Kyu Choi, flew from South Korea to attend the court hearing and address Wick through an interpreter.

Jin Kyu Choi spoke about how he modeled his life after his older brother.

"The pain is so great, this is not worth even our own lives," Jin Kyu Choi said to Wick. "You need to accept the present situation and do the things you need to do. I will pray for you."

Won Ho Choi spoke next, and told the court how his son loved the English language and how excited he was to come to Western and study it.

"He was simply an outstanding son by any measure," Won Ho Choi said as he wiped away tears.

Choi flew to the U.S. as soon as he heard his son had been injured. He told the court he visited the scene on Bill McDonald Parkway five times to call his son's name, but heard nothing in return.

"I really, really want to see him again," Choi said through the interpreter.

Choi, an elder at his church in South Korea, told Wick he forgave her.

"Please no longer depend on alcohol or medication," he told Wick. "Please depend on the Lord."

Wick, also wiping away tears, apologized to Un Kyu Choi's family.

"I never though that any of this could happen," Wick said. "I never thought I could take another life. I'm sorry you have to live without a son."