A 25-year-old Blaine man was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to his role in a fatal car crash on Blaine Road in March 2023 that killed 33-year-old Ashleigh Nicole Woodward and severely injured her teenage daughter.
Colby Jon Gunderson, 25, of Blaine, pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide, vehicular assault and hit-and-run felonies during a plea and sentencing hearing on Feb. 10 in Whatcom County Superior Court. Judge Evan Jones sentenced Gunderson to five years in prison and 1.5 years of parole, which went above the recommendation of two years in prison that the state and defense had agreed upon.
Jones sentenced Gunderson to concurrently serve 3.4 years in prison for vehicular homicide, one year for vehicular assault and five years for the hit-and-run. Each sentence was the highest length within the standard sentencing range for Gunderson’s charges and criminal history, according to superior court records.
On the evening of March 7, 2023, Woodward was driving her 2007 Mazda southbound on Blaine Road with her then-13-year-old daughter, Sienna, in the passenger seat. Witnesses described a motorcyclist, later identified as Gunderson, driving “erratically” as he weaved through southbound traffic on the two-lane road, according to the Washington State Patrol (WSP) investigation.
Woodward was coming up to the intersection of Drayton Harbor Road, near Bens Market, when Gunderson attempted to pass her. An oncoming vehicle began approaching Gunderson as he was left of Woodward, causing him to move into her lane. Woodward moved to the right to make room, but then overcorrected, swerving to the left in front of Gunderson and striking two concrete barriers, according to WSP.
WSP’s initial investigation determined Woodward was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the vehicle. Gunderson drove away.
Both Woodward and her daughter were transported to PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham and then flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Woodward’s daughter was released after being treated for an intracranial bleed. Woodward, who suffered a traumatic brain injury, died on April 13, 2023.
Blaine police connected Gunderson to the motorcycle after obtaining surveillance footage from Bens Market. WSP investigators described Gunderson as “extremely nervous” when they interviewed him on March 21, 2023, according to the charging documents. Gunderson showed investigators his motorcycle, which he said had been stolen and broken a few weeks prior. The motorcycle had no license plate and was recently repainted.
Shortly after talking to investigators, Gunderson allegedly removed photos of the motorcycle from his social media accounts. WSP obtained cell phone records that showed Gunderson in the area of the collision and observed Gunderson attempting to sell the motorcycle in May, 2023.
In June of 2023, Gunderson spoke again with detectives after a superior court judge approved a search warrant to seize the motorcycle. Court records show Gunderson admitted to attempting to pass Woodward’s vehicle. He told law enforcement that he didn’t believe he was involved in the crash because he never made contact with Woodward’s vehicle. He also said he threw away his helmet.
The Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office determined probable cause and issued a search warrant for Gunderson on Sept. 29, 2023. Gunderson was arrested on Oct. 10, 2023 and released on a $75,000 bond nearly two weeks later, according to Whatcom County Jail booking data.
Prior to the Feb. 10 sentencing, people close to Woodward and Gunderson wrote impact statements to Judge Evans that requested he consider who their loved ones were outside of the courtroom.
In Gunderson’s letters, friends described him as kind, honest and empathetic. Gunderson had opened his home to friends in need and treated those around him with compassion, they said.
“I’ve come to know he is kind, brave, hard working, and just a well rounded kid,” his girlfriend’s mother, Kimberly Klingsporn, wrote in her letter. “I know that he would give the shirt off his back to help others.”
Woodward’s obituary in the Panama City News Herald said she moved from Florida to Blaine in 2015 as a young mother trying to make a better life for herself and her daughter. Woodward worked as a certified nursing assistant at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center and the Mount Baker Pain Clinic, where she channeled her care toward others.
In her impact statement, Woodward’s sister, Megan Peters, described her only sibling as her protector and cheerleader.
Woodward loved rainbows, butterflies, sunflowers, and her three-legged dog. She couldn’t watch “Bambi” or “The Lion King” because both movies contained scenes where the protagonists’ parents die, Peters said.
Friends and family described the emotional toll of losing Woodward, from no longer being able to go to church to having health problems that caused frequent hospital visits.
“The emotional trauma, devastating loss of our family member, and the weight of our loss have reshaped our lives in ways that words can barely convey,” Woodward’s aunt, Rachel Simerly, wrote in her impact statement. “There is no sentence long enough, no penalty severe enough, to make up for what has been taken.”
