Samuel Jordan Cruz of Bonney Lake pleaded not guilty Monday to a charge of vehicular homicide in the death of an elementary school teacher in Auburn last month.
Cruz initially was charged with vehicular assault, but prosecutors amended that when the teacher, Stacy Ankerfelt, died from her injuries last week.
Cruz, 25, allegedly was driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol July 19 when his car hit Ankerfelt as she stood by her car near her home, according to charging papers.
He told police that he was taking the drug suboxone for withdrawal symptoms from his opiate dependency, the papers show.
Ankerfelt, 28, was a fifth- and sixth-grade teacher at Scenic Hill Elementary in Kent.
Bail was increased to $250,000 Monday. Cruz remains in custody.
He has a pretrial hearing set for Sept. 11.
alexis.krell@thenewstribune.com
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