Woman serving two years for vehicular homicide

EPHRATA - A Soap Lake woman is serving more than two years in prison after she crashed a car, killing her 8-year-old niece.

Shaynel J. Anslow, 26, pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in Grant County Superior Court, according to court records.

Anslow has no previous felony convictions, according to court records. She faced a sentencing range of one year and nine months to two years and three months in prison.

Grant County Superior Court Judge John Antosz followed the prosecutor's recommendation, sentencing Anslow to the maximum end of the sentencing range.

"She drove recklessly and killed a small girl. The maximum sentence was appropriate," Prosecutor Angus Lee said.

Anslow was driving north on Frey Road near Ephrata in June 2011, when she lost control of the 1994 Saturn on a turn, according to a Grant County sheriff's report. The car left the road and started rolling, breaking a utility pole, and ended up resting against a rock.

Alexandrea Hamilton, 8, was pronounced dead at the scene. A 39-year-old man suffered a fractured vertebrae and was transported to Sacred Heart Medical Center. Anslow and an 11-year-old juvenile were transported to Samaritan Hospital for minor injuries, according to the police report.

Police testing determined she was likely driving at 59 mph to lose control of the vehicle, according to the police report. Medical tests showed Anslow had methamphetamine in her system at the time of the collision.