Thurston County man sentenced for 2023 collision that injured Sheriff Sanders
A Yelm man who injured Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders in a 2023 collision has been sentenced to three months in jail.
Visiting Superior Court Judge Kevin Hull of Kitsap County sentenced Zachary Alan Roberge, 32, in Thurston County Superior Court Wednesday.
A jury convicted Roberge of vehicular assault while under the influence of a drug at the conclusion of a five-day trial on Feb. 25. The case came to a close Wednesday, almost three years after the collision that injured Sheriff Derek Sanders. The collision happened April 2, 2023, at the intersection of Lake Lawrence Road and 153rd Avenue Southwest in Thurston County.
Roberge pulled in front of Sanders in a pickup truck while traveling east on 153rd Avenue, The Olympian previously reported. Sanders reportedly swerved his Sheriff’s Office vehicle and struck a trailer Roberge was towing.
First responders extracted Sanders from his vehicle and had him airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for his injuries. He later recovered and returned to duty.
Roberge has no known criminal convictions, so the standard sentencing range for this offense was 3-9 months, according to court records.
He’s expected to start serving his three-month sentence on April 22 in the Thurston County jail. Once released, he must serve a year of community custody.
The Olympian has asked Roberge’s attorney, Christine Langley, to comment on the case.
Sheriff Derek Sanders attended the Wednesday hearing and shared his thoughts in a Facebook post.
“Today was sentencing, and oddly enough, it was my first time ever providing a victim impact statement to the courts,” Sanders said. “I asked Judge Hull to sentence Zachary to the lowest possible amount of time in jail so long as he complied with treatment.”
Sanders said the collision knocked him unconscious and elevated his level of anxiety while driving on and off duty.
“While I was entirely okay with Zachary not serving any time physically incarcerated, I’m grateful that Judge Hull did in fact sentence him at the lowest possible range of 90 days,” Sanders said.
Lab results showed “non-therapeutic” levels of methamphetamine in his system at the time of the collision, Sanders said. Law enforcement also alleged Roberge admitted to using meth to law enforcement who responded to the scene of the collision, according to court records.
“Zachary (Roberge) is proof that we’re all better than our lowest moment,” Sanders said. “He’s got no criminal history, he’s got a family he is working to support, and after the collision, he didn’t run or avoid accountability – he called 911 and was honest with investigators. It’s clear to me Zachary is a good person who made a mistake, and I forgave him long ago.”
Sanders believes victims should have a say in the sentencing process and thanked the judge and prosecutor for hearing him out.
“Whether it had anything to do with my statement or not, aligning the sentencing with my request for as little jail time as possible felt empowering,” Sanders said.
While reflecting on the incident, Sanders reminded the public about the dangers of driving while impaired.
“I hope we can continue to educate each other in our community that the first time someone drives impaired could be their last,” Sanders said. “It only takes one time to seriously hurt or kill yourself or someone else, and peer pressure to not drive impaired remains one of the most effective forms of prevention.”
Sanders said he talked with Roberge after the hearing and gave him a hug.
“The best kind of accountability is knowing Zachary is getting the help he needs and has broken the cycle of harm,” Sanders said.
