SEATTLE — A woman has been sentenced to nine years in prison, twice the standard range, for a wrong-way drunken driving accident that killed a Central Washington University student.
The exceptional sentence for Debra Jean Acey, 44, of Snoqualmie, who pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and assault, was justified because of her record of drunken driving and the circumstances of the crash, King County Superior Court Judge Charles W. Mertel said Friday. Erin M. Klotz, 20, of Kennewick was killed and Tracey L. Fischer, 20, of Edmonds, was injured.
Acey was previously arrested for drunken driving in 1986 and 1987. The second case was dismissed in 1990 after she completed two years of court-ordered treatment.
She had a blood alcohol level of 0.30 percent and told investigators she had taken a muscle relaxant and anti-depressant medication before getting into her sport utility vehicle to buy Thanksgiving cards Nov. 18.
No death penalty: The man convicted of fatally shooting 13 people in the city’s 1983 Chinatown Massacre will not face the death penalty. The findings from the jury at the trial of Kwan Fai "Willie" Mak, 41, would not provide a basis for the state to seek the death penalty, King County Superior Court Judge Laura Inveen ruled on Monday. Inveen acknowledged that families and friends of the victims may not be satisfied with her decision, but she said she hopes it brings them finality. Mak will serve life in prison without parole, the only other possible sentence for a conviction of aggravated first-degree murder.
Ferry breaks down on Vashon Island run: The principal Vashon Island ferry run was down to two boats early Monday after the Chelan was taken out of service because of a reduction gear problem, a state ferry system spokeswoman said. The Chelan, one of three ferries normally assigned to the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth run, was being repaired at Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island, spokeswoman Susan Harris-Huether said.
One big winner in Lotto: One lucky winner will take home the $10 million Lotto jackpot of the Washington State Lottery. Nobody won Saturday’s $1.5 million Quinto prize, so the jackpot grows to $1.6 million for Wednesday. There were 60 Lotto tickets sold with five of the six winning numbers, worth $1,000 each, and 3,067 tickets had four winning numbers for $35 each. The winning numbers were 8, 10, 12, 39, 44 and 46.
Fire kills 30,000 chickens: Some 30,000 month-old chickens died in a fire that destroyed a 530-foot barn, authorities said. The fire started when the poultry farm owners, Joe and Debbie Shulke, were attending church on Sunday morning. No people were injured. The Shulkes, who have 190,000 chickens in eight barns, supply poultry to the Foster Farms processing plant in Kelso. The fryers inside the destroyed barn were about 33 days old, Joe Shulke said.
Man dies after being shot at home: A man was shot at his home in a quiet neighborhood but managed to provide "valuable information" before he died, police said. The man, believed to be in his 20s, died early Sunday at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle about two hours after he called 911 and said he had been shot in the stomach. A gun and other evidence was found outside the house in the Foster Point neighborhood, police spokesman Darrell Baskin said. Police said the out-of-the-way location of the rented house, which backs onto the Duwamish River, indicated the killing was not a random act.
One dead, two injured in one-car crash: A one-car accident left one man dead and two others injured, State Patrol troopers said. Sergio D. Zamora, 21, of Prosser, a passenger, died when the 1986 Chevrolet Monte Carlo went off Northwest Crescent about a quarter-mile west of town and hit a fence late Sunday night, troopers said. The driver, Fernando R. Andrade, 21, of Prosser, was listed in critical condition after being flown to Harborview Medical Center. Bond lawyer for Seattle Kingdome dies: James Gay, a bond lawyer who arranged financing for the Seattle Kingdome and two major floating bridges in the Puget Sound area, is dead at 83. Gay, who didn’t mind seeing the concrete stadium demolished, died of kidney failure Tuesday in a care facility. Gay was born in Seattle, worked two jobs to put himself through law school at the University of Washington, graduated at the top of his class in 1943 and worked as a teaching assistant while helping his father start Hansen Baking Co. in Seattle. He was best known as the lawyer in charge of bond sales to finance the Kingdome, the Hood Canal floating bridge between the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas on Highway 104 and the Evergreen Point floating bridge on Highway 520 across Lake Washington.
EPA backs snowmobile ban: The Environmental Protection Agency is urging the complete ban of snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, saying even limited numbers of snowmobiles may violate clean air standards. The EPA released a report Monday repeating its assertion made three years ago that banning snowmobiles is the "best available protection" for air quality, wildlife and the health of people who work and visit the parks. Opponents of a snowmobile ban questioned the EPA’s position, saying it failed to incorporate data provided by snowmobile manufacturers. The National Park Service is expected to decide this November whether to ban or limit snowmobiles in the two Western parks.
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