Woman charged in area collision
Toolbox
By PATRICK McARDLE STAFF WRITER - Published: November 4, 2009
BENNINGTON – A Pownal woman, who police said admitted to speeding and taking prescription drugs before the Aug. 10 crash that injured two people and killed a woman's twin, 6-month-old fetuses, was arraigned on felony charges and drug possession charges on Tuesday.
Kelly M. Cook, 22, was charged on counts from two dockets in Bennington District Court on Tuesday. For the first, she was arraigned on felony charges of driving under the influence of drugs which resulted in serious bodily injury and two felony charges of driving with gross negligence resulting in serious bodily injury.
In the second docket, Cook was charged with misdemeanor possession of less than 100 doses of Klonopin and Suboxone.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice Web site, Klonopin is a brand name for clonazepam, a member of the benzodiazepine family of depressants, and Suboxone is a brand name for buprenorphine which is used to treat opiate addiction.
Michael Munson, Bennington County deputy state's attorney, asked Tuesday that Cook be required to enter a drug treatment program because of her involvement in what he called an "awful incident."
Instead, Judge David Suntag ordered Cook to submit to a drug screening at United Counseling Services in Bennington and follow their recommendation.
In an affidavit, Sgt. Lloyd Dean said Cook had been driving north on Route 7 in Bennington near Pownal around 9 p.m. Aug. 10. Dean said Cook admitted to police she was driving 65 mph in a 50 mph zone and crossed the center line while trying to negotiate a right-hand curve.
Patricia Blair, 38, of Bennington, was driving south on Route 7 at the time when the vehicles collided in the southbound lane. According to Dean, Patricia Blair was taken to Dartmouth-Hitchcock (N.H.) Medical Center, where, despite intervention by doctors, the fetuses Blair was carrying died.
Patricia Blair's spine was broken in two places and her husband, Randy Blair, 37, was "critically injured" with damage to his right arm and leg and to his face, Dean said.
The Blairs' two children were treated at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington and released.
Dean said Cook admitted to Bennington police Officer David Faden that she had taken four clonazepam and "some" buprenorphine pills before driving. According to the affidavit, a blood test later confirmed that Cook had taken both drugs.
Dean, who is the Bennington Police Department's crash investigation officer, said he also believed that Cook's car was unsafe because it had "four different tire brands, sizes, tire pressures and tread depths" including one that was a spare tire.
Patricia Blair told Dean that Cook had driven into the wrong lane of traffic, as did a Massachusetts woman and her passenger, who were driving behind Blair.
Cook broke her right femur and left wrist in the crash. Doctors surgically implanted a steel rod into her right femur, Dean said. On Tuesday, Cook was still using a crutch to walk.
In a separate affidavit, Bennington Detective Peter Urbanowicz said he found two Suboxone pills and 15 Klonopin in Cook's purse when she came to the police station on Oct. 20. Cook was retrieving the purse, which had been confiscated by police as evidence in the crash.
On Tuesday, Cook pleaded not guilty to all the charges against her and was released on an unsecured appearance bond of $100,000. Other release conditions included checking in with the Bennington Police Department three times a week and an order that Cook not drive.
Cook is scheduled to be in court again today for a hearing on a charge that she violated her probation by being charged with more crimes. Cook was on probation for a 2007 conviction for petty larceny.
No member of the Blair family was in the courtroom on Tuesday.
patrick.mcardle@rutlandherald.com
38