Antonio Cellestine
Gordon PattersonVANCOUVER, WA (KPTV) -
A man who struck and killed a Hudson's Bay High School teacher in 2009 is facing new charges after getting back behind the wheel.
Court records show Antonio Cellestine took his mother's car for a drive last week, but his driver's license is suspended.
When a trooper tried to stop him for cutting in front of a tractor-trailer, he took off, police said.
Eventually, the trooper gave up the chase for safety reasons, but police later tracked down the car at Cellestine's mother's house.
Court documents said Cellestine's mother initially denied knowing who could have taken her car that day, but she eventually told police that Cellestine was driving her car to his work.
When detectives interviewed Cellestine, he denied driving his mother's car, according to police. He said the area where his mother lives has a lot of thieves, but the officer interviewing him said "thieves don't usually steal cars and return the car to the same parking stall," according to court documents.
Cellestine faces charges of attempt to elude, driving while suspended and taking a vehicle without permission.
Four years ago, he was text messaging on his cell phone up until crashing his car into Gordon Patterson, a beloved teacher at Cellestine's former high school. Cellestine, a former student of Patterson's, didn't stop and later got rid of the damaged car. He was arrested, convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.
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