Kent teacher hit by impaired driver dies

A Kent fifth grade teacher who was hit by an impaired driver outside her home in Auburn has died of her injuries, the King County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed Monday.

Stacy Ankerfelt, 28, was on her way to get supplies for the upcoming school year when she was hit by an SUV on July 19. She suffered a fractured elbow, head trauma, a broken heal, several broken ribs, and multiple lacerations.

Ankerfelt had remained at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where her condition was upgraded from critical to serious in late July. Her husband, Jason Ankerfelt, spoke to KIRO FM from the Intensive Care Unit where he believed his wife was making a slow recovery.

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

Jason and Stacy celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary at the hospital on July 30.

“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.”

The driver of the SUV that struck Ankerfelt 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.

Cruz had been arrested and charged with vehicular assault for the accident and faced three to nine months behind bars. He could now face an amended charge of vehicular homicide. Under a new state law, he faces 78 to 102 months, which is equivalent to the penalty for first-degree manslaughter.

Prosecutors plan to amend charges against Cruz in the next several days, according to Dan Donohoe with the King County Prosecutor’s Office. Cruz would become the third person in King County charged under the new statute.

Prior to Ankerfelt’s death, family and friends had helped to raise more than $25,000 to assist with her medical expenses.