DUI suspected in head-on crash that killed pregnant taxi passenger

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — A pregnant woman is dead, a taxi driver is struggling to survive and a truck driver faces charges after plowing his pickup head first into a taxi van.

Since the wreckage along Highway 167 has cleared, KIRO 7 discovered the victim recently shared the news on her Facebook page, that she was about to be a mother again.

The driver's side of the taxi van was blown right off on impact.

The head-on crash along River Road claimed the life of Shanna Huttenstine just after midnight.

On her Facebook page, the 34-year-old boasted about her finally getting off of chemo and most recently boasted about being pregnant again.  She shared she was due in September.

See photos of the crash scene here.

State Patrol said the driver of a Dodge pickup, 48-year-old Anderson Hamilton, caused the crash.

"Something got him to leave his lane of travel to strike that other vehicle," Trooper Guy Gill said.

Gill said that something was clear -- investigators believe Hamilton was driving under the influence.  He refused to perform field sobriety tests for a drug recognition expert.

"His demeanor was very sluggish and he actually fell asleep when we were interviewing him at the office," he said.

On Wednesday, the Pierce County Prosecutor's office said police found injection needles and what appeared to be marijuana in Hamilton's pockets.

Speers, 36, made out of the taxi alive and has been released from the hospital, but the taxi driver, Said Ali, could die from his injuries, according to the State Patrol

"He had some very serious leg injuries," Gill said.

Troopers took blood from Hamilton and will have it tested for drugs and alcohol.

As for Hamilton's demeanor after the fatal crash: “He's not very remorseful at all, actually," said Gill.

Tuesday night Jason Speers told KIRO 7 he hasn’t slept since the crash.

“When I close my eyes I see the horror scene accident,” said Speers. He told us, “I fell in love with her because of the way she treated me. She had a heart of gold unlike any other person I’ve ever met.”

Hamilton was charged Wednesday with with one count of vehicular homicide and two counts of vehicular assault.

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