A Sequim man who was charged in the March 31, 2025 hit-and-run that left Sequim middle-schooler Colton Dufour seriously injured was sentenced Thursday, Jan. 8 to 12 months in the Clallam County Jail and 12 months of community custody, or probation.

Cole William Douglas, 23, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of vehicular assault and also hit-and-run, a gross misdemeanor. A gross misdemeanor is considered more serious than standard misdemeanors.

During a 34-minute sentencing hearing before Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Stanley, Deputy Prosecutor Steven Johnson stated that Colton is “back in school,” but “this was really close to being a vehicular or a hit-and-run death case.”

Colton was 13 and in seventh grade at Sequim Middle School at the time he was struck and thrown into the air by Douglas’ 1996 Lexus sedan at around 9 p.m. on the Monday of Spring Break while he was skateboarding with friends on West Spruce Street. He suffered a severe head injury that required emergency neurosurgery, and also sustained a broken pelvis and other injuries. He was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Douglas was arrested on May 21 in Oklahoma and flown back to Clallam County where he was booked into jail on May 23. On June 6 he pleaded not guilty to felony charges of hit-and-run with injury, and vehicular assault. He faced the possibility of five- and 10-year prison sentences and fines of up to $10,000 and $20,000 for the separate charges.

At that time, after Judge Brent Basden was told that Douglas had no criminal history and after being assured by defense attorney William Payne that Douglas would “appear (in court) as ordered,” Basden set bail at $20,000 rather than the $250,000 requested by the prosecutor’s office. Douglas posted bail on May 29.

At the Jan. 8 sentencing, Colton was in the courtroom, as was his mother, Cherie Tachell. Neither addressed the court, but victim witness coordinator Molly Ramsey, who works in the prosecutor’s office, read aloud a victim’s impact statement on behalf of Tachell. The statement detailed Tachell’s fear that her son had died or might die while she and other family members were driving to Seattle that night, Colton’s suffering while in ICU, and how life has changed for him and their family. Colton will not be able to fulfill his lifelong dream to become a U.S. Marine, she stated.

“It shook the whole community,” Tachell wrote of the incident that caused many in Sequim to rally around the family, raising money to defray medical and other expenses.

Tachell appeared to wipe away tears several times during the proceedings, including when Ramsey read her victim’s impact statement. Cole mostly kept his head bowed.

As for Douglas, who was 22 at the time of the incident, he sat at the defendant’s table with Payne, his shoulders slumped and his eyes downcast for most of the hearing.

Douglas never looked behind him at Colton or Tachell during the proceedings, but apologized for his actions, directing his remarks to the judge after she asked if there was anything he wished to say “before I sentence you today.”

Douglas responded, “This is directed towards Colton and his family. I just can’t even begin to explain to you how much this has destroyed me as a person, the complete shock of what had transpired just destroyed me.”

Douglas stated that he was “completely ashamed” of himself.

“It’s inexcusable, and I’m going to carry this with me for the rest of my life,” he said.

Stanley imposed the sentence that had been agreed upon by all parties. As part of the plea deal, Douglas will be monitored by the Department of Corrections as part of his community custody and will be required to give a DNA sample if he has not already provided one. His driver’s license will be revoked by the Department of Licensing, and he will not be allowed to drive while in community custody.

Douglas was deemed indigent by the court and a final restitution amount has not yet been determined, Johnson told the Sequim Gazette after the hearing.

As the proceedings concluded, Tachell began to smile and no longer wiped her eyes.

Stanley remarked that “the statements made to the court today were quite impactful from both sides” and noted that she felt Douglas’ remorse was sincere.

“In light of everything I’ve heard today, I do believe the agreed-upon recommendation is appropriate in this matter,” she said.

Douglas was then taken into custody.

Later that day, the prosecutor’s office issued a press release about the case’s resolution.

“Mr. Douglas nearly killed a teenage boy and then fled halfway across the country in an attempt to evade accountability,” the release said, quoting Johnson. It noted that “the resolution involved Douglas pleading to a strike offense and receiving community custody and substance use treatment, which would not have occurred under the original charge.”

The release thanked the Sequim Police Department for its work investigating the crime and in locating Douglas.

Photo courtesy Cherie Tachell/ This photo of Cherie Tachell and her son, Colton Dufour, became a familiar sight as the Sequim community rallied to raise funds for the family after Colton, then 13, was seriously injured in a hit-and-run while skateboarding with friends during Spring Break. A fundraiser held at the Sequim McDonald’s last April raised $5,200 for the family.