Kennewick woman sentenced in 2024 drunken-driving crash that killed two Issaquah men

June 21, 2024, was supposed to be a happy day for Randy Agnew.

Agnew had retired as a school bus driver two days earlier, and to mark the occasion, he and Rodney Ahrens, accompanied by other friends, took a motorcycle ride through the Yakima River Canyon, friends and family said.

But rather than marking the start of a new chapter in Agnew’s life, the ride would abruptly end in Agnew and Ahrens’ deaths. A drunken driver pulled in front of the motorcyclists, hitting the two Issaquah men and forcing a third motorcycle to crash, injuring two other riders.

The Kennewick woman who hit them, Beth Ann Striver, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Yakima County Superior Court to two counts of vehicular homicide and two counts of vehicular assault. At the recommendation of both sides, Judge Jard Boswell sentenced Striver to 12 years for each vehicular homicide and almost three years on each of vehicular assault charges, with the sentences to be served concurrently for a total of 12 years.

Boswell also reminded Striver, 25, that this was her first “strike” under the state’s “three strikes law” and that if she is convicted of two more serious offenses she will go to prison for the rest of her life.

'Reckless actions'

While friends and family of the men offered the hope that Striver would get her life in order, with some offering her forgiveness, they also said that what Striver did was inexcusable.

“(Agnew’s) death was determined by the defendant. It was not an accident, a momentary lapse of judgment,” said Madeline Jackson, Agnew’s daughter. “It was the result of a selfish and irresponsible decision. My dad doesn’t get a second chance.”

“Ms. Striver’s reckless actions took away the lives of two people, and two people had to have multiple surgeries,” said Steve Hayes, who was riding with the group and witnessed the crash. “Her action brought grief and suffering to hundreds of family members. It will linger for decades to come.”

Hayes, who saw the men thrown from their bikes in a crash he said had the force of hitting a brick wall at 90 mph, said he has PTSD as a result, and he finds himself getting unexpectedly thrown back to the memory of that day.

Ahrens, 69, was pronounced dead at MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital, while Agnew, 75, was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he died from his injuries.

The other two motorcyclists, Steven and Drusilla Moeller of Renton, were treated at the hospital for a shattered foot and a broken leg respectively.

Drusilla Moeller, speaking at the hearing, said she forgave Striver and hoped that she would get help with her alcoholism.

Photos of both men were displayed on and near the prosecutor’s table in the courtroom, while a “celebration of life” video for Agnew was played on courtroom monitors.

Headed to treatment center

Both Deputy Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney Richard Petersen and Jeff West, Striver’s attorney, said that Striver was “ironically” heading to the Sundown M Ranch for treatment of her alcoholism when she hit the motorcyclists.

Before leaving for the treatment center, she decided to have one last indulgence of alcohol, drinking four shots of vodka that pushed her blood-alcohol level to more than three times the legal standard for intoxication, Petersen said.

“This is someone who has some demons to deal with. I hope she gets the help she needs,” Petersen said. “But she has a price she has to pay.”

West, who has handled DUI cases as both a prosecutor and a defense attorney for more than 20 years, said the case was unique, given the set of facts leading up the crash, and Striver’s response to it.

“I don’t think Stephen King could write a better short story on the evils of drunken driving,” West said.

Striver wanted to take responsibility for what happened from the beginning, West said. The major holdup was securing guardianship for her two children before she goes to prison.

“I have noted that most persons who have substance abuse issues are deeply selfish. Whenever you are talking to them, it is about them,” West said. “Ms. Striver has never made this about her. I just want the court to know that her conversation has been about the victims or that her children were properly cared for.”

An apology

Striver, who wept throughout the nearly two-hour hearing, apologized to the families and friends of the men.

“I am prepared to take responsibility,” Striver said. “I hope I can use what happened to educate others to avoid the hurt and pain we are experiencing.”

Boswell agreed with the families that Striver decided that day to drive after consuming alcohol, and he said he would trust the attorneys’ recommendation that a 12-year prison sentence was appropriate.

“There is not enough time that it would be justice,” Boswell said. “Even an eye for an eye wouldn’t be justice.”

Boswell urged Striver to live her life in a way that honors Agnew and Ahrens’ memory.