Alcohol ‘all over’ the car. Alleged drunk driver charged in wreck that killed Fife woman
A woman suspected of driving drunk in Pierce County last month and killing her passenger in a car wreck east of Roy has been charged in the victim’s death.
Alicia Danett Ivie, 43, was charged Tuesday in Pierce County Superior Court with DUI vehicular homicide for the Nov. 26 crash on 304th Street East that killed Shawn Bauer, 48, of Fife.
The defendant is to be arraigned Dec. 27. According to court records, Ivie has a prior felony conviction from 2016 in Pierce County for third-degree assault.
According to charging documents, Ivie was driving west near the 1200 block of 304th Street after midnight when she lost control of the car, drifted off the road and struck a fence and two trees, spinning the vehicle around. The car, a Chevrolet Suburban, stopped in a ditch on the shoulder. Based on evidence at the scene, Pierce County deputies suspected high speed and alcohol were factors in the crash.
Pierce County Sheriff’s Department responded at about 12:26 a.m. along with South Pierce Fire & Rescue and Graham Fire & Rescue crews. Deputies arrived to see fire personnel removing the driver from the car. According to the declaration for determination of probable cause, Ivie was found slumped over inside. Records state she was injured and refused to speak with deputies before being taken to Tacoma General Hospital.
Bauer was found on the ground next to the passenger side of the Suburban. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The Pierce County medical examiner later ruled she died of multiple blunt force injuries.
There was alcohol “all over” the inside of the car, according to the probable cause document, and fire personnel could smell it while removing Ivie. Deputies contacted the defendant at the hospital and noted she had a cut above her eyes, a bloody nose and a swollen eye.
Ivie was informed that she was under arrest, and the defendant told deputies her civil rights were being violated, records state. Deputies didn’t ask her any questions but wrote in a report that they could smell “intoxicants” on her breath. Ivie’s blood was drawn, and toxicology results are pending.
