Near head-on collision leaves family shaken

PALMER -- A woman set to be arraigned faces nearly two years in jail that could begin today in connection with reckless driving charges involving a hit and run on the Parks Highway.

Margaret A. Kelley, 41, is charged with leaving the scene of an accident and reckless driving after an incident earlier this year at Mile 89.5 Parks Hwy. Kelley faces two years in suspended sentences that could be imposed for two previous felony convictions.

According to Alaska State Trooper reports and charging documents, Kelley narrowly missed a head-on collision with the Ash family as they returned from a weekend at Tangle Lakes in September.

Kelley said she cannot discuss details of her situation as she fears jeopardizing her legal case, but in light of the recent unrelated death of 4-year-old Floyd Mack in an alleged DWI accident on the Parks Highway Nov. 27, she said she is horrified at the thought of a drunken driver hurting someone.

"I'd rather go the rest of my life without driving than to kill someone," Kelley said.

Helen Sharratt Ash, who was in the car Kelley allegedly hit, said she wanted to come forward with her story in light of the boy's death. That story hit Ash especially hard, she said.

"My 4-year-old daughter is alive after our accident, but maybe the next DWI victim won't be," she said. "My little girl is now in treatment for levels of fear and anxiety about death which are totally abnormal and unacceptable for her age. We all watched helplessly as the car kept coming toward us."

Ash, along with her husband, 4-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son, were driving back Sept. 24 from a weekend at Tangle Lakes just after dusk when Kelley allegedly came toward them in the south-bound lane driving a white Toyota.

The Ash family, driving a Dodge Ram with an aluminum boat on top of a trailer hooked to the back, watched the driver, later identified as Kelley, coming toward them for more than a mile, Helen Ash said.

Ray Ash, who was driving, moved the vehicle to the shoulder of the road to avoid a head-on, and kept moving over as the on-coming car continued to aim straight at them but was unable to avoid the car hitting the rear of the trailer just as the Dodge Ram pulled into the ditch on a steep incline.

"We literally had to roll into the ditch to get away from her," Ash said.

Michael and Judith Habla witnessed the incident from their vehicle and called the troopers with a cell phone. According to the trooper report and charging documents, they said the driver of the Toyota did not stop after the accident, but kept going without the right-front tire of the car, which was yanked off when it hit the trailer.

About a mile down the road the Toyota stopped, the Hablas told Trooper R. Johnson, who responded to the scene. The woman "acted strange," according to the reports. The Hablas let the woman use their cell phone and she called someone to pick her up. The last the Hablas saw of the woman was when she ran into the woods with her dogs, according to the report.

Johnson searched the woods and could not locate her. He reported finding an open beer can on the floorboards of the car, with several empties. The car was registered in Kelley's name and other documents in the car had her name on them, according to the report.

Troopers did not charge Kelley with DWI, but she was charged with reckless driving and leaving the scene of the accident two days later.

Kelley was charged with three previous DWIs, in 1996, 1997 and again in 1999. She also had convictions for misconduct involving a controlled substance and resisting arrest. She was convicted on two of the DWIs, and the third DWI charge was dropped after her defense attorney challenged information presented to the grand jury for the indictment.

Instead, she was re-indicted and then convicted on the lesser charge of reckless driving and received suspended sentences.

Assistant District Attorney John Erickson filed two petitions Nov. 28 to revoke probation and impose sentence, one involving 300 days to serve plus another 280 days. These could be imposed at Kelley's arraignment

today.