Auburn woman pleads not guilty to charges in deadly crash

An Auburn woman pleaded not guilty to several charges in connection with a July 26 vehicular crash that killed another driver and seriously injured his passenger.

Virginia C. Ramsey, 36, pleaded not guilty to eight charges, including second-degree murder, in the Fife crash that killed Doug Simmons. Ramsey also faces charges of unlawful possession, eluding police and driving with a suspended license.

Ramsey suffered serious injuries from the crash and entered a Pierce County courtroom in a wheelchair Tuesday. She remains in jail in lieu of $750,000 bail.

Simmons, a 40-year-old Fife resident, was driving the Volkswagen when he was killed. His passenger, 42-year-old Holly Mattson, was seriously injured and continues to recover from her injuries. The wreck that killed her friend tore her aorta, ripped her spleen and injured her neck.

Prosecutors allege Ramsey was trying to flee a Federal Way police officer who was trying to pull her over on suspicion of drunken driving. She ran a red light at Pacific Highway South and Porter Way and hit Simmons' white Volkswagen.

Ramsey was once convicted of selling her 4-month-old baby for $2,000, which she used to gamble and buy video-game consoles, according to court records. She pleaded guilty to the 2002 baby-selling charge and was sentenced to 15 days in jail, 75 days of electronic home-monitoring and 240 hours of community service after she told a King County judge that she had moved to Port Angeles and was addressing her drinking and drugging problem.

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