A woman has been sentenced for fatally striking a 28-year-old man in downtown Puyallup after she got behind the wheel after drinking at a Halloween party in 2021.
Cheryl Anise Johnson, 64, pleaded guilty on May 4, 2023, for vehicular homicide and felony driving under the influence, which resulted in the death of Mark Matthew Burnett of Puyallup. Johnson struck Burnett on Oct. 30, 2021, at the intersection of West Main Street and North Meridian Avenue, court records show.
A Pierce County Superior Court judge sentenced Johnson to 27 months in prison on Friday. She will also serve 12 months in community custody, according to court documents.
Johnson had no prior criminal history in Pierce County before the incident, court records show.
Details of the incident
Prior to the collision, Johnson was at a Halloween party on the Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Johnson told a Puyallup Police Department officer that she took a few shots at her son’s house on the military base. The collision occurred about 11 p.m. as she was driving home. A witness said that the driver went through a green light at the intersection when she struck Burnett, who had been standing just off a crosswalk, according to charging documents.
Johnson was driving about 40-45 mph. Police said the speed limit was 25 mph in the area. Johnson was arrested on suspicion of DUI, after a breathalyzer showed her blood-alcohol content was 0.18, above the legal limit of 0.08, charging documents show.
When police arrived, Johnson was standing by her vehicle and appeared distraught. Officers asked if she was OK, and she allegedly replied, “He just jumped out. I didn’t mean to hit him,” charging documents show.
Witnesses were performing life-saving measures on Burnett before medical personnel arrived. He was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center in critical condition. Burnett died from his injuries about two weeks later on Nov. 14, according to the probable cause document.
Johnson was taken to MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital to have her blood drawn that night, court records show. Puyallup police Capt. Ryan Portmann said that Johnson was released the same night after being processed at the hospital, according to a previous News Tribune report.
Johnson’s sentencing
Johnson has two adult children and a stepson. She moved from Colorado to Washington in 2021 to be closer to her son’s family in Puyallup, according to the sentencing memorandum.
Johnson’s attorney wrote in the memorandum that following the fatal crash in 2021, she took steps to maintain sobriety. She attended Alcohol and Drug Information School and a DUI victim’s panel. Johnson also obtained a Substance Use Disorder Assessment at a state-certified treatment agency.
Johnson maintained her sobriety since completing treatment and does not plan to ever using alcohol again. She wants to continue to share her story with others with the goal of preventing similar incidents in the future, her attorney wrote.
“The impact to Mark Burnett and his family cannot be underestimated, and there is not even a day — or even hour — that goes by that [Johnson] does not reflect on the loss she caused,” her attorney wrote.
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