A judge sentenced a Longview woman Friday to more than eight years in prison for driving drunk in August 2023 and crashing into a west Vancouver house, killing a woman inside.
Karen Baker, 53, pleaded guilty in Clark County Superior Court to vehicular homicide and reckless driving. The judge ordered her license be revoked and she undergo substance use treatment.
Baker apologized through tears to the family and friends of Danielle A. Abrahams, 37, many of whom filled the seats in the courtroom’s gallery Friday. Baker said she hopes the fact that she’s going to prison helps them heal and have closure.
“I’m sorry that I took your loved one away from you,” she said.
She also wiped away tears while Abraham’s family and friends read statements about the pain of her loss. Several said no sentence would feel like justice, because no amount of prison time for Baker could bring Abrahams back.
“I hope you recognize the magnitude of your irresponsible decisions,” Abrahams’ sister said. “I will never experience becoming an aunt, my parents will never get grandkids from their first-born daughter. You’ve stolen countless memories from everyone in this room.”
Abrahams’ husband, William Abrahams, said everyone who cared for her lost a lot when she was killed.
“Our home, which was supposed to be a sanctuary, was violated,” William Abrahams said in a statement read by Danielle Abrahams’ sister. “Danielle’s passing has left me in a state of shock, disbelief and overwhelming grief.”
Vancouver police responded at 6:38 p.m. Aug. 3, 2023, to a crash at West Fourth Plain Boulevard and Fruit Valley Road.
An officer on scene reported a Hyundai Sonata crashed into a house, and a person was trapped under the car. Police observed a fence around the house was broken in multiple places, and the vehicle had driven through the glass door of the house, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Paramedics pronounced Danielle Abrahams dead at the scene, court records state.
Officers said an emotional Baker was out of the car when they arrived. They later said Baker was yelling at paramedics as they tried to help her, according to the affidavit.
Defense attorney Marina Spencer said Friday that Baker was yelling at paramedics because she didn’t feel she deserved medical treatment after what she’d done.
A witness told officers they saw the Hyundai speeding before hitting a curb and then crashing into the house.
Deputy Prosecutor Kelly Ryan said Baker’s blood-alcohol content was 0.17. In Washington, a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 is considered evidence of drunken driving.
Spencer said Baker has been in alcohol treatment since the crash, and Baker will never drink again.
