SEATTLE – On the night of Nov. 18, 2001, Debra Acey was driving the wrong way on Interstate 90 near Snoqualmie in her Isuzu Rodeo.
She had consumed numerous glasses of wine and was taking medication that would make her sleepy, according to King County prosecutors.
Erin Klotz, 21, was a passenger in a Honda Accord headed eastbound, driven by a friend from Central Washington University, Tracey Fischer, 21.
Acey slammed head-on into them, killing Klotz and seriously injuring Fischer.
On Friday, April 26, Acey, 44, of Snoqualmie was sentenced to nine years in state prison on one count of vehicular homicide and one count of vehicular assault by Judge Charles Mertel. Acey, who changed her plea to guilty in February, received nearly twice the standard time.
“It was an appropriate sentence because the facts were atrocious,” said prosecutor Amy Freedheim.
Acey’s blood-alcohol content, measured after the accident, was 0.3, nearly four times the legal limit. She also was convicted of drunken driving in 1990 as a result of a 1987 accident.
Several friends from high school and college spoke in court remembering Erin Klotz’s dedication to community service and music. A video of her playing the flute was shown; she wanted to earn a doctorate in musicology.
“This woman who killed my friend will still have the gift of life,” said Ellicin Thiessen, a high-school and college friend. “Debra Acey took that away from her.”
Acey looked down and was tearful in her statement to the judge.
“There’s no apology to express my remorse to Erin’s family or the Fischer family,” she said. “[There’s] enormous pain to my family as well. I cannot imagine the pain of losing a child in such a senseless manner.”
Klotz’s parents and sister also addressed the court and the media.
“I have had my motherhood savagely torn in half,” said Nancy Klotz, Erin’s mother.
“I think the sentence was enough,” said Klotz’s father, Duane. “We’re not the experts, we don’t know. Our concern is that she learn.”
A neighbor and foster brother spoke on Acey’s behalf and asked the judge for leniency.
Acey has a 12-year-old son and a 11-year-old daughter.
“I will live with this forever no matter where I am,” she said.
