Whatcom woman suspected of vehicular homicide in 2019 crash with pedestrian on the Guide
A Ferndale woman is suspected of vehicular homicide in a 2019 fatal incident with a pedestrian on Guide Meridian after blood tests reportedly revealed that, though eight months pregnant, she had amphetamine and methamphetamine in her system.
The Washington State Patrol booked Alexandra Amy Setina, 25, into Whatcom County Jail Friday, Sept. 10, on suspicion of vehicular homicide under the influence. Jail records show she was released the same day.
Whatcom County Superior Court documents show Setina was the driver of a 2002 Chevrolet Malibu that struck and killed Alyssa N. Green, 32 of Bellingham on the evening of July 23, 2019.
According to the Washington State Patrol report on the incident, Greene was in the right lane of northbound State Route 539 just south of Smith Road, when she was struck by Setina’s Malibu at approximately 10:43 p.m.
“We got phone calls of a pedestrian who was out in the roadway,” Trooper Rocky Oliphant told The Bellingham Herald at the time. “About two minutes later, we got the first call that a pedestrian had been struck. ... They don’t know the reason she was out in traffic yet, and I don’t know if we’ll ever know the reasoning.”
Oliphant said the first trooper on scene attempted CPR, but Greene was pronounced dead at the scene. Setina and her 47-year-old male passenger from Chehalis were uninjured in the incident, according to the report, and Setina was not thought to be impaired, the report stated.
The trooper who responded to the scene of the crash reported Setina’s pupils were normal size for that time of night, documents state. Setina also told the trooper that she had used drugs in the past, but said she had not been using due to her pregnancy, according to documents, and the trooper reported no other clues that Setina was impaired.
A Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Drug Recognition Expert also evaluated Setina and found her speech normal and did not observe any other clues that she was impaired, documents state. She even passed field tests.
Setina’s personal breath test sample returned no impairment, documents state.
When asked to take a voluntary blood draw, Setina declined, according to documents, and then she changed her story saying she had used narcotics in recent days but not on the day of the crash and said she was just scared of getting in trouble. She consented to a voluntary blood draw, documents state.
The lab results showed that Setina had 0.016 mg/L of amphetamine and 0.056 mg/L of methamphetamine, documents state.
The location of the fatal incident occurred in a dark area along the Guide, where the speed limit is 50 mph, documents state.
Tests also showed Greene had multiple drugs in her system, and her autopsy ruled methamphetamine usage as a contributing element to her death, according to documents.
Court records show Setina has previous convictions in Whatcom County for forgery, assault and theft, and taking a vehicle without permission and theft in Skagit County.
