Deming man gets prison time for killing oncoming driver in Mount Baker Highway crash
A Deming man who hit and killed an oncoming driver on Mount Baker Highway in early 2016 will spend three years in prison.
Connor Mackenzie Bloom, 26, was sentenced Jan. 7, 2020, to three years in prison with one year of probation for one count of vehicular homicide in Whatcom County Superior Court.
While at the hospital receiving treatment for serious injuries he suffered during the crash, Bloom admitted he had consumed both marijuana and methamphetamine earlier that day, court records state.
Bloom was given an exceptional sentence that was nearly twice the standard range. Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys agreed it was the appropriate sentence.
On Jan. 28, 2016, Bloom passed several westbound cars on Mount Baker Highway in his black 1998 BMW 318 before he tried to pass a Peterbilt semitruck near Mission Road minutes after 4 p.m., according to court records.
As he tried to pass the semi, Bloom saw an oncoming Saturn SL1 in the eastbound lane, driven by 44-year-old Ronald S. Baker of Maple Falls, court records state. Bloom’s car crashed head-on into Baker’s, and Baker was pronounced dead at the scene.
“It just breaks my heart that my whole world has changed, my children’s whole world changed, and I know the defendant’s world has changed, but again, it comes back to making wise choices,” Baker’s wife, Meredith, said in a Wednesday, Jan. 8, interview with The Bellingham Herald. “Our choices affect so many people and life is precious, and we should try and make the wisest choices that we possibly can.”
Meredith Baker said the hardest part was having court hearings every other month, only to find out the case had been pushed further down the road. All total, it took nearly four years for the case to reach a conclusion.
Meredith Baker said she and her husband met her senior year in high school and the pair dated off and on, before solidly dating for 10 years. The couple was married for another 13, she said.
“He was just kind of the love of my life. He was my high school sweetheart,” she said.
Alan Chalfie, Bloom’s defense attorney, said Bloom has been sober from drugs and alcohol for the past four years and has been in therapy for three.
Chalfie said Bloom has worked a steady job the past several years while on bail, and he expects him to have one when he’s released from prison. Chalfie said Bloom also has support from his family and friends, many of whom attended the Tuesday morning sentencing.
Bloom, who turned to look at Baker’s wife, said that words can’t express how sorry he feels.
“Ever since that day, I had never hurt anybody in my life. Every second that goes by, I think about what happened,” Bloom said. “Every day I’m going to strive to be a better man because of what happened, and I will live for your husband as well.”
Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Lee Grochmal said this was a difficult case for all involved. She said Bloom wasn’t intending to take Baker’s life, and that all the court could do was make sure the consequences fit the crime.
Grochmal commended Bloom for his remorse and his actions following the crash, including complying with his conditions of release, such as not driving, while his case was moving through the system. She said she understood why it might appear to Baker’s family that Bloom hasn’t faced consequences over the past four years.
Grochmal said she understood that it was hard for Baker’s family to accept that Bloom was remorseful for his actions. She said that while Bloom’s prison sentence was lengthy, it was deserved.
