Woman with fatal crash on her record sentenced to 90 days

PALMER — A woman convicted of manslaughter in her mother’s death almost 20 years ago now faces 90 days in jail after driving drunk with her 5-year-old son in the passenger seat.

Alexandria Platt, 43, pleaded guilty March 6 to driving under the influence, first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, and driving with a canceled, suspended, or revoked license, court documents show. Platt was sentenced the same day. Those charges contain a maximum combined penalty of three years in prison and $30,000 in fines. She was eventually sentenced to 90 days in prison, 150 community service hours, plus 90 days of license suspension and an ignition interlock. She may serve the 90 days on ankle monitoring if permitted by the Department of Corrections.

Troopers pulled Platt over Aug. 9, 2014, after several callers reporter a dangerous driver in a 2005 dark blue Buick LaCrosse sedan was “swerving all over the road” at low speeds on the Glenn Highway near the Palmer Hay Flats, according to a criminal complaint filed in Palmer District Court. Troopers eventually stopped her along Trunk Road. Her son was strapped into a car seat next to her, according to both an affidavit written by the trooper and attorney statements at the sentencing.

When tested for alcohol, Platt first blew a .103 level of breath alcohol content. But 20 minutes later when tested with a more accurate device, Platt’s breath alcohol content was recorded at .084, which is .004 above the legal limit for driving in Alaska, according to an affidavit.

Attorneys who spoke at her sentencing said Platt was convicted of the Oct. 15, 1998, manslaughter of her mother in a drunken driving incident. Authorities say Platt, then 27 and known by her maiden name, Rodriguez, drove through a stop sign and struck a utility pole near the intersection of Gamble and 14th streets in Anchorage.

Georgiana Chercasen, Platt’s mother rode in the passenger seat of the car, and was not wearing a seatbelt, attorneys said. Chercasen struck the dashboard and sustained fatal injuries, according to attorneys. Investigators found no evidence of braking or swerving at the scene of the 1998 wreck, leading them to conclude that Rodriguez had passed out behind the wheel.

Alcohol tests at the time showed both Platt and her mother had blood alcohol contents of 0.2.

Platt received a five-year, 20-day sentence, according to presiding Judge William Estelle. She obtained a limited license to drive to and from work in 2012, according to attorneys.

Prosecuting attorney Eric Senta argued that the combination of the presence of a child, as well as the serious nature of the previous conviction, qualified Platt for the “most serious offender” status under sentencing criteria.

“The license revocation charge is most serious because of the reason the license was suspended,” he said. “This isn’t someone who picked up an extra speeding ticket and was out and about. This was a license revocation for DUI manslaughter.”

The tragedy of Platt’s mother’s death was self-evident, Senta said.

“It speaks for itself,” he said. “It’s the most tragic of situations you can think of except for killing your kid in the car. The worst is killing your child, and that’s what Ms. Platt was in the process of doing when she got pulled over in the present case.”

Platt’s attorney, Rex Butler, argued that the level of intoxication in the August incident, as well as the roughly 15 intervening years, when Platt was neither arrested nor cited by law enforcement in any way, as evidence that the August incident was a temporary error in judgment.

“Fifteen years of living the right way takes a person out of a worst offender category,” he said.

Platt was a caring mother, and had maintained steady employment for 12 of the 15 intervening years, Butler said.

“If you’ve been off the radar for 10 years, I submit to the public that you are not the danger that the state seems to think you are,” he said.

In addition to the manslaughter charge, Platt must carry the burden of being complicit in her mother’s death, Butler said.

“Really and truly, obviously, the manslaughter resulting in the death of your mother is something my client will probably never get over,” he said. “And certainly the state can use that for whatever purpose I guess they wish to use it for. But we have 15 years of good living the right way.”

“I would just conclude my remarks by saying that this is not a worst offense with this type of (breath alcohol content),” he said.

In the interim period, “the state of Alaska only knows you exist because you apply for your permanent fund dividend,” Butler added. “Rehabilitation should be at the forefront of the sentencing goals.”

Platt also contrasted her life situation in 1999 — when she was the neglected younger daughter in an abusive living arrangement — with her present role as a mother. During a preliminary hearing, a prosecuting attorney had referred to her as a “murderer,” she said.

“I think it was my first court hearing here, I was called a murderer,” she said. “I think I thought about that every day to this day. I still think about it. I wasn’t able to talk about my mom because it’s too painful, and then to hear I’m a murder was … overwhelming. I don’t blame him for calling me a murderer. There’s truth there. But, I am a good person.”

She has been married 10 years and works at Carrs grocery store, she said.

“Yes, I did drink and drive,” she said. “Yes, I put my son in danger. I have been sober for so long. I don’t know where it came from. I don’t want to drink. I don’t want to have that desire. I wake up, the first thing on my mind is my son. I’m happily married. I love my job.”

Estelle said Platt is fortunate the 2014 incident didn’t end differently.

“The difference between this case and that case is just a matter of luck, and that’s the case in a lot of DUI vehicular homicides,” Estelle said. “It’s just a DUI, until it’s a DUI gone bad.”