Bonney Lake man pleads guilty to vehicular homicide in death of teacher
Jan 3, 2013, 1:27 PM | Updated: 2:07 pm
Jason and Stacy Ankerfelt celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on July 30. Stacy later died of injuries suffered when she was hit outside her home in Auburn on July 19. (Photo courtesy: iveForward.com/ForStacy)
(Photo courtesy: iveForward.com/ForStacy)
His SUV hit and killed her last summer, now a Bonney Lake man has pleaded guilty to the vehicular homicide of a 28-year-old Kent fifth-grade teacher.
The Seattle Times reports 25-year-old Samuel Cruz entered the plea Wednesday, admitting to his role in the death of Stacy Ankerfelt in July.
Witnesses say Ankerfelt was hit outside her house by Cruz’s SUV as she was heading out to buy school supplies. She was hit with such violence her body flew 30 feet through the air and landed at her neighbor’s doorstep.
Despite the terrible injuries, Ankerfelt hung on in the hospital for a month, even celebrating her sixth wedding anniversary with husband Jason in intensive care.
“I got to put her ring on her finger that I have on my neck and took a picture of our hands together,” Jason told KIRO Radio earlier this year.
Cruz told police he had been taking a prescription drug at the time to help ease his withdrawal from Oxycodone.
“She was an innocent sweet girl,” said her husband Jason, with a message to Cruz. “If you’re on prescription medication do the right thing and follow the directions on the bottle. There’s a reason that it’s printed on there.”
The Seattle Times reports prosecutors and defense attorneys together will recommend Cruz be sentenced to just over eight years in prison when he next goes before the judge on January 25.
