Woman sentenced for fatal Pierce County wreck. Defense argued another driver at fault
A 45-year-old woman convicted of DUI vehicular homicide in a jury trial for crashing her vehicle after leaving a bar in rural Pierce County, killing a passenger, has been sentenced to nine years, eight months in prison.
Alicia Danett Ivie was convicted in July for the Nov. 26, 2022, wreck on 304th Street East that left 48-year-old Shawn Bauer of Fife dead. According to court records, Ivie lost control of the Chevrolet Suburban she was driving at high speed and went off the road, striking a fence and two trees before the vehicle stopped in a ditch.
The collision occurred about two miles west of the Roundup Restaurant & Lounge. A bystander called 911 at about 12:19 a.m. Ivie was removed from the car by fire crews and transported to Tacoma General Hospital. Bauer, whose arm was severed in the crash, was pronounced dead at the scene. Fire crews reported seeing alcohol “all over” the car when Ivie was extricated.
Ivie’s blood-alcohol content was found to be 0.11 three hours after the collision, above the legal limit of 0.08. Prosecutors said Bauer’s death was the result of Ivie’s choice to drink and then drive with a passenger at high speeds — over 80 mph in a 40 mph zone.
“Her choice was to do this on a road that she knew had deep ditches on either side,” deputy prosecuting attorney Elizabeth Dasse wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “Ms. Bauer’s death was the culmination of Ms. Ivie’s choices.”
Ivie’s defense attorney, Dawn Farina of Puget Law Group, contended at trial and prior to sentencing that another driver caused Ivie to lose control of her car.
Farina wrote in her sentencing memorandum that facts at trial established that a man who had been drinking with Ivie and Bauer earlier in the night and who agreed to follow them home rode up on Ivie’s bumper repeatedly, causing her to accelerate.
“...Then, without warning, attempted to pass Alicia’s vehicle in the oncoming lane of travel, and cut her off as he reentered her lane of travel, causing Alicia to lose control of her vehicle and crash, resulting in the death of Shawn Bauer,” Farina wrote.
The defense attorney wrote that she and the prosecutor spoke with jurors after Ivie was found guilty on July 17, after about a day of deliberations. Farina said the jury told the attorneys they were convinced the other driver passed Ivie at high speed and caused her to lose control.
Farina said the jurors unanimously agreed that the man should be criminally charged. He has not been charged, according to Pierce County Superior Court records.
The defense attorney said Ivie contributed to the wreck, but she argued that the other driver’s actions were a reason Ivie should receive a punishment below the standard sentencing range of about 12 to 14 years in prison, requesting a six-and-a-half year sentence.
Prosecutors argued Ivie should be sentenced to the high end of the range. The defendant has a prior criminal conviction for reckless driving from 2019, a gross misdemeanor.
The sentence Judge Joseph Evans imposed Friday was below the standard range but longer than the defense requested. It included a 48-month enhancement because Ivie has been convicted of two prior DUI-related offenses.
Dasse said in closing arguments that there was insufficient evidence to show the other driver was even there, according to a trial transcript. The man testified that a black truck that bystanders saw leave the scene did not belong to him, according to Dasse, and she said no one saw the driver or a license plate.
Dasse wrote in a sentencing memorandum that it was “bewildering” that Ivie’s defense was requesting a sentence below the standard range and that Ivie was still unable to grasp that Bauer’s death was her fault.
“(The other driver) may have also been present, but without Ms. Ivie’s choices, Ms. Bauer would be alive today,” Dasse wrote.
