LAKE STEVENS, Wash. — A teenager accused of hitting and killing a motorcyclist in July was charged Wednesday in Snohomish County.
After seven months, the 17-year-old was charged with vehicular homicide.
It’s something friends of the victim, Anthony Palko, have been waiting for.
“It's been pretty tough to not have any information whatsoever,” said Sam Shipley, one of Palko’s friends.
For several months following Palko’s death, his friends have been pushing for justice and are now one step closer.
“To finally see charge papers come through was a bit of a relief,” Shipley said.
Since the teen is underage and being charged in juvenile court, KING 5 will not release his name.
New details were released in the charging documents and shed light on what happened to Palko the night of the crash.
“We're still pretty raw, it's pretty emotional," Shipley said. "Reading those charging papers for me there was a lot of anxiety and tears in my eyes.:
Around 10 p.m. on June 27, Palko was riding his motorcycle in Lake Stevens on 84th Street near 123 Ave NE when he was hit and killed.
A witness gave KING 5 dashcam video from their car which captured the incident. The video shows a Honda cross the center line on 84th Street and speed by the car with the dash cam. Video shows the driver did not try to get back over and attempted to pass another car before hitting Palko, who was traveling in the opposite direction.
Witnesses say the road where the accident happened is dangerous.
“It gradually inclines all the way up into an apex and literally Anthony was on one side and the driver on the other and there was no way they could see each other,” Shipley said.
Detectives estimate the 17-year-old was driving 106 miles per hour. The impact of the crash was so severe, it took firefighters time to find Palko.
“It was very graphic, but it also had a lot of details and nuances that we didn't want to miss. The illegal passing, passing on a hill, all of the things we had hoped they had found because we felt that would have a lot of weight in this case,” said Shipley.
While Palko’s friends have gotten some answers, the fight for justice is far from over.
“If there was an opportunity where Palko could be there for you, he would be there for you and so this is just a reciprocation of that, and we want to be there for him,” Shipley said.
KING 5 reached out to the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney's Office to ask why it took so long to file charges and has not heard back yet.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office gave some insight and said vehicle cases can be more complex and it’s not uncommon for investigators to take six to 12 months in some cases to finish an investigation before handing it to prosecutors to make a charging decision.