PORT ANGELES — The trial of a Port Angeles woman accused of vehicular homicide has been postponed to mid-September.
Amber Steim, 25, was scheduled to go to trial July 23 on charges of vehicular homicide, reckless endangerment and witness tampering in the March 2011 death of 44-year-old Ellen DeBondt.
Defense attorney Ralph Anderson told a Clallam County Superior Court judge Thursday that he was not prepared for trial because reports from expert witnesses are incomplete.
The new trial date is Sept. 17.
Steim is accused of driving with a 0.23 blood-alcohol level when the pickup she was operating crossed the centerline.
The truck struck a vehicle driven by DeBondt on state Highway 112 near Joyce at 7:54 a.m. March 6, 2011.
DeBondt, a well-known health nurse from Crescent Bay, died at the scene.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge Ken Williams granted Anderson’s request to continue the trial and set a pretrial status conference for Aug. 17.
The delay was the latest of several that have occurred for various reasons over the past 16 months.
Anderson told Williams that it is unlikely his client will go to trial for vehicular homicide.
“I’m hopeful that we’ll resolve this as a plea,” Anderson said.
Last Friday, Williams granted Anderson’s motion to dismiss a charge of first-degree murder with extreme indifference that Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Deb Kelly filed in April.
In a 13-page ruling, Williams cited case law and concluded Steim’s actions constituted vehicular homicide but not murder.
Kelly filed a motion for Williams to reconsider the dismissal of the murder charge Thursday.
“In this case, after working a full eight-hour shift on March 5, 2011, the Defendant drank and partied all night, to such an extent that her blood alcohol level a full hour after the collision on March 6 registered .23,” Kelly wrote.
The legal limit in Washington is 0.08.
“Becoming upset after an argument, she then drove randomly on slick city and county roads for approximately two to two and a half hours before crossing over a yellow line and rumble strip to hit the victim at almost a 45 degree angle of impact,” Kelly said in her motion to reconsider.
“The inference from the collision investigation is that she was driving poorly enough such that the victim, Ms. DeBondt, had time to appreciate the danger and pull her own vehicle as far over to her side of the road as possible and came to an almost complete stop before being struck,” Kelly said.
“The State submits that the continuing driving conduct in this case is akin to a person continuing to play Russian roulette with a six-shot revolver.”
Anderson said he would not file a counter response, saying Williams ruled “scholarly and thoroughly.”
Steim faces a sentencing range of 55 to 65 months, Anderson has said.
Steim is being held in the Clallam County jail on $500,000 bond.
Williams set an Aug. 10 deadline for the reports from defense experts.
Anderson said he would provide the reports to the state as soon as he receives them.
Steim and her friend Nicole Boucher were on their way to Freshwater Bay when the wreck occurred.
The witness-tampering charge stems from an alleged phone call Steim placed from jail in which she allegedly asked Boucher to tell her lawyer that she drank alcohol after the crash because she was in pain.
Steim was treated for a concussion and other injuries at Olympic Medical Center before she was jailed.
Boucher suffered minor injuries but declined medical aid.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
