Teen crash victim mourned

Friends and family members are mourning the loss of a 16-year-old Bellevue student who died in a fiery crash in Newcastle that police say may have been caused by a race between the youth and an 18-year-old friend.

The 18-year-old was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault. He appeared Thursday in King County Superior Court, where bail was set at $100,000.

Prosecutors have until Monday to file formal charges in the case.

The Seattle Times does not normally identify criminal defendants until they are formally charged.

According to court records, the suspect had four traffic violations since 2004, and had last been cited by the Washington State Patrol on Dec. 22, when he was accused of driving 80 in a 60-mph zone.

The victim was identified as Rishi Sodhi, 16, by the King County Medical Examiner's Office.

Sodhi and the second driver were close friends, said family members and associates at Bellevue Community College, where both were enrolled in a Running Start program for advanced students.

Sodhi died after his car caught fire in the crash that occurred about 2:15 p.m. Wednesday on Coal Creek Parkway Southeast near Forest Park Drive Southeast.

According to Bellevue police, two vehicles, a BMW and a 2006 Scion, were traveling at an estimated 70 mph southbound on Coal Creek Parkway at the time of the crash. Other witnesses estimated the speeds at 90 mph.

One of the cars, the BMW driven by Sodhi, sideswiped a Saturn sedan, then crossed the centerline and collided with a Volkswagen. The BMW burst into flames and Sodhi died inside, despite the efforts of witnesses to rescue him, police reported. The drivers of the Saturn and the VW suffered nonlife-threatening injuries.

Sodhi was an independent and focused student who wanted to make his own path in life, said Amy MacNeill, coordinator for BCC's high-school programs.

"They were always both doing things together," she said of the two young men. "It's a really sad time. They were both good students."

Sodhi was particularly intense on his studies, she said, and had enrolled in Running Start through Bellevue High School. The program allows students to earn both high-school and college credits simultaneously.

Dozens of people were mourning at the Sodhi family home in south Bellevue Thursday, but family members declined to speak about their loss.

At the home of the 18-year-old suspect in Newcastle, an uncle, Dalvinder Gill, said the loss immersed two families in a tragedy.

"Both of them were like sons to me," he said. "It's a tragedy no matter how you look at it. They were really close friends."

Gill said the youths had known each other about five years and met through close ties in the Indian community. Gill said his nephew was born in the Seattle area and grew up here.

"Both families are from India. We got together on social occasions," he said. "Right now, our sympathies are with the other family."

Police reported the 18-year-old first drove away from the scene, then turned around, parked and walked back to the collision site, according to court records.

Mandeep Sandhu, a friend at BCC, said Sodhi was driving a red BMW M3, a high-performance version of a standard BMW.

"It was barely a couple of years old," he said. "He was just real excited about the car. He bought it on eBay and had only had it about a month."

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com