Copied from KINY's news-site 1/11/07

http://www.kinyradio.com/juneaunews/latest_juneau_news.html

Juneau woman pleads guilty to homicide in traffic death
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - A 20-year-old Juneau woman has pleaded guilty to a charge of criminally negligent homicide in the traffic death of a University of Alaska Southeast student.
 
Stephanie Smathers was a passenger in a van involved in a collision that killed 25-year-old Jody Watson in August 2005.
 
Smathers was allegedly involved in a physical fight with the driver, David Alex, when he lost control of the vehicle and slammed into Watson's car.
 
Smathers originally faced a charge of manslaughter, a felony with a maximum sentence of eight years for a first offense.
 
She pleaded guilty yesterday (Wednesday) to criminally negligent homicide as a part of a plea agreement.
 
Her attorney Tom Nave says Smathers faces a maximum of no more than three years because the state acknowledged the existence of a mitigating factor.
 
Sentencing has been set for March 27th.
 
Alex is scheduled for a February trial on a manslaughter charge.
(Juneau Empire)