A 19-year-old Edmonds woman stood shaking and holding her attorney’s hand Thursday when she admitted she was guilty of a fatal hit-and-run that could send her to prison for more than three years.
Mia Erica Gribble stood before Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Ronald Castleberry and told him she was the driver of a truck that struck a motorcycle and killed its rider. Gribble didn’t stop.
The motorcyclist was Gabriella Muelher-Roosevelt, 45, a University of Washington research coordinator in the anesthesiology department. She had been en route to work when the collision happened Oct. 17, 2005, on Highway 104 at 240th Street SW in Edmonds.
Deputy prosecutor Paul Stern alleged in court documents that Gribble had been drinking before the accident. An analysis of her blood also showed that she had the drug ecstasy in her system, Stern said.
She pleaded guilty to a charge of hit-and-run with a fatality. Stern and Seattle defense attorney Tony Savage agreed to recommend a prison sentence of three years and four months, the high end of the sentencing range, Stern said after the court hearing.
Sentencing is set for Dec. 7.
Gribble fled the accident, did not call for aid for Muelher-Roosevelt and later refused to cooperate with police, according to court documents.
Numerous friends of Muelher-Roosevelt and Gribble attended the hearing. The woman was charged in September and pleaded guilty at her first court appearance. Stern and Savage have been discussing the case and negotiating a plea for months, Stern told the judge.
Stern alleged Gribble’s full-sized Chevy pickup cut in front of the motorcycle about 5:30 a.m. The smaller vehicle hit the rear passenger side of the truck and the rider was thrown to the pavement.
Just a few minutes later, Gribble woke up a friend and told her to “hurry. We have to leave now,” Stern wrote in charging papers. The friend later described Gribble as “upset and scared,” Stern said.
Edmonds police arrived at Gribble’s home within minutes of the accident after witnesses gave them a description of the pickup. Gribble would not talk with police or answer the door. After about two hours she came out of her house and was arrested.
Tests taken several hours after the accident showed that Gribble had a blood-alcohol level of .06, an amount below the legal limit, Stern said. Further tests of the blood showed the presence of ecstasy, Stern said, at amounts sufficient to affect her ability to drive.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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