After accident, couple celebrates anniversary in ICU

Jason and Stacy Ankerfelt celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle Monday, where Stacy remains in serious condition after being struck by an impaired driver outside her home in Auburn, Wash. (Photo courtesy GiveForward.com/ForStacy)

Jason and Stacy Ankerfelt celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle Monday.

Stacy has been in the Intensive Care Unit since July 19, when she was struck by an impaired driver outside her home in Auburn, Wash.

“I got to put her ring on her finger that I have on my neck, and took a picture of our hands together,” Jason said. “It was amazing because she was alive.”

Stacy Ankerfelt, 28, is a fifth grade teacher at Scenic Hill Elementary School in Kent. She was on her way to get supplies for the upcoming school year when she was hit by an SUV.

According to witnesses, her body landed nearly 30 feet from where she was struck.

“I ran over and held her so her head wouldn’t bang off the ground anymore,” said Dan Hodson, who has lived next door to the Ankerfelt’s for more than a year. Hodson and his 23-year-old son, Anthony, witnessed the accident.

Anthony Hodson said he barely recognized his neighbor as she lay bleeding in front of their house. He sent another man to chase after the driver of the SUV, who had started to leave the scene.

“He was panicking … he was just walking back and forth,” Hodson said of the suspect. “He came over and saw her (Stacy Ankerfelt). At this time she was starting to bleed out of her ears.”

The suspect got a nose bleed and started to throw up when he saw Ankerfelt on the concrete, Hodson said.

The driver of the SUV was identified as Samuel J. Cruz, 20, who allegedly told police at the scene that he was under the influence of a prescription drug called Suboxone. He said he took the medication to treat withdrawal symptoms of an Oxycodone addiction.

According to court documents, Cruz had slowed speech and erratic behavior after the accident. His emotions varied from “sobbing slightly” to “giggling and laughing.”

Officer Eric Michl, who has been with the Seattle Police Department for 32 years, is a member of the Driving Under the Influence Squad. He is trained to identify impaired drivers and says prescription medication can have the same effect as drugs and alcohol.

“For instance, a painkiller […] is a lot like heroin,” he said. “A person can be on the nod, falling asleep at the wheel, disoriented. Vital signs could be suppressed.”

Officer Michl said many assume they can legally drive under the influence of medication if they have a prescription from a doctor.

“It’s not legal first of all, and secondly it’s not safe,” he said.

Penalties for driving under the influence of prescription drugs are the same as driving drunk or high, he said.

Cruz has been charged with vehicular assault for the accident that injured Stacy Ankerfelt and is set to be arraigned on August 6. If found guilty, he could face three to nine months behind bars.

Although her condition has been upgraded from critical to serious, Jason Ankerfelt has not been told how long his wife’s recovery may take. She suffered a fractured elbow, head trauma, a broken heal, several broken ribs and multiple lacerations.

“She was an innocent, sweet girl that didn’t do anything wrong,” Ankerfelt said of his wife. “She did absolutely nothing wrong.”

While Ankerfelt said he is not mad at the man who hit his wife, he encourages those who take prescription medication to read warning labels carefully and avoid getting behind the wheel.

If you would like to make a donation to the Ankerfelt family, you can do so at giveforward.com/forstacy.

A silent auction/spaghetti feed fundraiser will be held in her name at the Log Cabin in Sumner, Wash., on Sunday, August 5. There will be a $10/per person donation at the door with all proceeds benefiting the family.

Exterior photo courtesy Stacy Ankerfelt’s Facebook page