Driver sentenced for ATV accident that killed woman

Dickey, 25, may serve his sentence under electronic monitoring instead of in jail. Elizabeth Dean, Anderson's mother, said by phone from her home in Virginia that she requested Dickey be allowed to serve his sentence under house arrest. Her husband was still weighing whether he supports that request, she said.

"I miss my daughter terribly. She was my life and my husband's life, too. Not a day goes by where we don't grieve her. But I know (Dickey) has a small child that he has to provide for, too," she said.

His attorney, Joshua Fannon, confirmed the details of his sentence but said he would not comment more on the case. Dickey's mother, Terry Dickey, said her son was devastated by the accident. It's caused him to rethink his attitude toward life, she said.

"He realizes how in the blink of an eye, your life can change. His literally did, as well as hers (Anderson's)," she said.

According to Alaska State Trooper reports and Dickey's mother's account, Dickey was driving a green 2007 Polaris Ranger south in the ditch on Bogard Road after 12:30 a.m. on April 19 when he turned sharply onto Bogard Road to cross it.

Dickey and Anderson had just met at a party, Terry Dickey said. They had a couple drinks, not enough to feel impaired, she said, and decided to go out for a ride on the Ranger. When he turned onto Bogard, Anderson, who wasn't wearing a seat belt, fell out and suffered a serious head injury. She died at Providence Alaska Medical Center on April 23.

Troopers said Dickey failed sobriety tests at the scene and was taken to Mat-Su PreTrial Facility, where he later posted bail.

Dickey was convicted in August of a DUI and criminally negligent homicide, a class B felony punishable by one to three years in jail. He has a previous DUI, from 2002.

Terry Dickey said the first DUI happened after her son came home from college. He was drinking while underage.

"Since that time he's been very careful that, if he decides to drink, he would not drive," she said. "I don't believe he has a drinking problem. (After the April accident) he has no desire to drink again -- he saw the devastating effects of that mistake."

In addition to the sentence on house arrest, Dickey will have five years' probation, will lose his license for a year and must use an ignition interlock device for two years. The device requires the driver to submit to a breath-alcohol test before driving and while the car is operating.

Terry Dickey said her son also lost his North Slope job as a result of the accident.

Dean, Anderson's mother, said she and her husband, Ted Dean, asked Dickey to perform community service by speaking out about the dangers of alcohol abuse.

"So many people think they're invincible. I'm sure my daughter didn't think that was going to be the last day of her life," she said. "If somebody else can be spared what we've been put through. ..."

Dean said her daughter worked as a technician at Geneva Woods pharmacy. She said life in Alaska had been difficult for her daughter, who had grown up in Corpus Christi, Texas, and loved the beach. She was a gregarious girl with many friends. Dozens share memories and thoughts about her on a Facebook tribute page Dean set up.

Anderson moved to Alaska with her husband, David Anderson, who worked on the North Slope. The couple had recently had a daughter, Layla, whom Dean said was the biggest joy in her daughter's life. State court records show the couple was divorcing when the accident occurred.

Dean said her daughter was "moving forward" and planned to go to school to become a pharmacist. She spoke to her daughter by phone every morning and evening. That's why, when she didn't hear from her on the day of the accident, Dean said she immediately became worried. She said she's still trying to understand what happened the night her daughter died. At the sentencing, which the Deans attended by telephone, her husband asked Dickey to write a letter explaining what happened.

"Not knowing is hard," she said.

Find Rindi White online at adn.com/contact/rwhite or call 907-352-6709.