Woman sentenced for 2020 manslaughter, DUI

The Moscow woman who killed a 75-year-old Coeur d’Alene woman on Christmas Eve in 2020 while driving high on methamphetamine was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison with two years fixed.

Latah County District Judge John Judge made his decision in front of a courtroom filled with relatives of the victim, Calleen White, and the convicted woman, Stacey Davis, during an emotional sentencing hearing.

“This tragedy has rippled out through the community,” Judge John Judge said.

On Dec. 24, 2020, Davis was traveling in a 2005 Pontiac Vibe southbound on U.S. Highway 95 and attempted to turn left onto Eid Road, according to court documents. That is when a 2000 Nissan Altima, heading north, collided with Davis’s vehicle head-on. A traffic collision report completed by Idaho State Police concluded that Davis failed to yield.

Davis was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time.

She pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and aggravated driving under the influence in December.

Judge said Davis will have access to treatment while in prison and he is confident she will be released on parole after the first two years. There is no probation period.

During the hearing, Judge heard statements from three members of White’s family.

“Grandma didn’t deserve what happened to her,” said Brock Montee, who was in the vehicle with White at the time of the crash. “It is so unfair.”

Montee, who suffered serious injuries in the crash, said he was trapped in the car next to White during her last breaths.

“She was doing everything to save her life and I couldn’t do anything about it,” he said.

Hailey Dismukes, Montee’s fiance and White’s granddaughter, was also in the vehicle with White and Montee. Dismukes said she and Montee suffer post-traumatic stress from the accident and that she feels “alone, angry, sad” every day.

“Christmas will never be the same again,” she said.

White’s daughter, Joanna Westgate, recounted the difficult experience of having to tell her son that his grandmother died. She also said White never had the chance to call Westgate’s brother on his birthday Christmas day.

“My mother always used to say every action has a consequence,” she said. “Stacey’s (action) was gross negligence and it cost the death of someone we love so much.”

Davis also spoke during the hearing and offered a tearful apology, saying she deserved to be punished.

“I apologize to everyone in Latah County for my reckless behavior,” she said. “I feel terrible for the pain I have caused to so many people.”

Davis’s attorney, Robyn McPherson, said Davis quit meth and has regularly tested clean and is attending counseling.

In addition to the sentencing, Judge ordered Davis to pay restitution totaling nearly $9,000 to Westgate, Dismukes and Montee, as well as a $5,000 civic penalty to Westgate.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.