Ellensburg Man Pleads Guilty To Causing Crash That Killed His Wife & Infant Daughter

An Ellensburg man is facing up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to killing his wife and infant daughter when he crashed a vehicle at high speed while intoxicated last fall.

The Ellensburg Daily Record says 30-year-old Chance Michael Piccin entered the plea in Kittitas County Superior Court on Jan. 15, when he admitted to being behind the wheel and under the influence of alcohol when the deadly crash occurred on Oct. 25, 2025.

Using an analysis of the data tracking system attached to Piccin's vehicle, investigators learned that he'd been traveling at speeds as high as 103 mph just before failing to negotiate a sharp curve on State Route 821.

Get our free mobile app

As a result, Piccin's vehicle flipped and rolled at least once, resulting in fatal injuries to 33-year-old Courtney A. Bedell and the couple's three-month-old daughter, Una.

Piccin's admission of being intoxicated at the time of the crash came despite any finalized toxicology reports from the Washington State Patrol, which Judge Chris Herion and attorneys for both sides in the case agreed weren't necessary to deem that alcohol played a major factor in the fatal incident.

In a written statement of guilt that was read by Herion before the court, Piccin called the day of the crash "the worst day in at least three people's lives," and went on to say, "I saw the pain my catastrophic decisions caused. I watched my wife take her last breath, while my daughter was beginning the process of dying in my arms. Whatever sentence the court imposes on me, I will never escape what I did. I will never escape what I saw. And I’ll always know there’s one person responsible for their deaths. Me.”

Piccin had originally pled not guilty to charges of vehicle homicide and was scheduled to be tried in December, but changed his plea before those proceedings could begin.

He's now facing between 95 and 125 months in prison, followed by 18 months of parole when sentenced occurs later this month.