RutlandHerald.com - We Are Vermont

Pownal woman's trial in fatal accident delayed until March



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By PATRICK McARDLE STAFF WRITER - Published: November 7, 2009

BENNINGTON – The trial of a Pownal woman accused of causing an accident that killed another driver's twin, 6-month-old fetuses will not begin until March and her attorney may attempt to suppress her alleged confession.

Kelly M. Cook, 22, was in Bennington District Court for the second time in two days on Wednesday. On Tuesday, she was charged with one felony count of driving under the influence of drugs which resulted in serious bodily injury, two felony counts of driving with gross negligence resulting in serious bodily injury and two misdemeanor charges of possession of less than 100 doses of drugs, one for Klonopin and the other for Suboxone.

The charges stem from an Aug. 10 crash on Route 7 in Bennington near the Pownal border that seriously injured Randy and Patricia Blair and Cook.

Patricia Blair was six months' pregnant at the time and lost both fetuses but Vermont law does not allow Cook to be charged with injuring or killing the fetuses.

Police said Cook was driving north and Patricia Blair was driving south when Cook entered Blair's lane after failing to properly negotiate a curve on Route 7.

The possession of drug charges were filed after Cook picked up her purse from the Bennington Police Station in October. Police said there were two Suboxone pills and 15 Klonopin for which she had no valid prescription in Cook's purse.

Cook was back in court on Wednesday because police said she admitted to taking pills without a valid prescription on the night of the crash, which was a violation of the conditions of her probation from a 2007 conviction for petty larceny.

Cook admitted to the violation on Wednesday but will not be sentenced for it until the other charges are resolved.

At Wednesday's hearing, a schedule was set for the remaining charges. Preparations are expected to be completed by February with a final pretrial hearing to be set as soon as possible after March 1.

Public Defender Frederick Bragdon said he anticipated that he might file a motion to suppress statements Cook made on the night of the crash. Bragdon said that Cook may have still been under the influence of the pain and shock of the crash which may have an affect on whether her statement would be considered voluntary.

Police said Cook admitted to speeding and taking prescription drugs before the crash on Aug. 10.








READER COMMENTS


If she was taking synthetic opiates and benzodiazepenes, I doubt highly she was in "pain and shock" from the crash, since that's precisely what those two drugs are designed to treat. She probably admitted to taking the drugs fearing EMTs might give her something else that would cause her to OD. What difference does it make if she admitted to taking the drugs or not, if the drugs were found in her possession (i.e. in her purse), isn't that already a violation of her probation? All that does is lessen her violations from three felonies to two.
-- Posted by concerned citizen on Sat, Nov 7, 2009, 9:05 am EST

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