Woman sentenced for running family off road

PALMER -- A 41-year-old Caswell Lakes woman was sentenced Wednesday to two years in jail for an alcohol-related hit and run on the Parks Highway, and forfeits her license until 2012.

Margaret A. Kelley, 41, pled no contest to leaving the scene of an accident and reckless driving in the case involving a Sept. 24 incident at Mile 89.5 Parks Highway.

Magistrate David Zwink, before issuing the sentence, heard testimony from the victim, Ray Ash, who spoke about the ramifications of being run off the road.

"I hope no other family has to endure what happened to us and that there is no possibility of her being able to hurt anyone else," Ash said.

Kelley, addressing both the judge and Ash, said she is filled with remorse over her actions. "I am truly regretful about the whole situation. I used very poor moral judgment."

According to court records Helen and Ray Ash, along with their four-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son, were driving back from a weekend of camping at Tangle Lake just after dusk that September Monday when a Toyota reportedly came straight at them. The Ash family, driving a Dodge Ram with an aluminum boat on top and a trailer hooked to the back, watched as the car was coming toward them for more than a mile, Helen Ash said in her victim's impact statement.

Ray Ash, driving, moved to the shoulder of the road to avoid a head-on collision, and kept moving over as the oncoming car reportedly continued to aim straight at them. It hit the rear of the trailer just as the Dodge Ram pulled into the ditch on a step incline.

Ash said the family was traumatized, particularly the 4-year-old girl, because they watched the vehicle coming at them.

Alaska State Troopers were called by Michael and Judith Habla, who had a cell phone in their car and witnessed the wreck. According to the trooper report, the driver of the Toyota did not stop after the accident, but kept going without the right, front tire on the car, which was yanked off in the impact with the trailer.

About a mile down the road, the Toyota stopped, the Hablas told Trooper Rodney Johnson, who responded. According to court records, the Hablas said the woman "acted strange," and asked them not to call the police. The couple let the woman use their cell phone and she reportedly called someone to pick her up. The last the Hablas saw of the woman was when she reportedly ran into the woods with her dogs.

Trooper Johnson searched the woods and reportedly could not locate her. He reported finding an open beer can on the floorboards of the Toyota, with several empty cans and a case in the back. The car was registered in Margaret Kelley's name and other documents in the car had her name on them.

Troopers could not charge Kelley with drunk driving since no toxicology report could be taken, but she was charged with reckless driving and leaving the scene of the accident.

Kelley was charged with three previous DWI's -- in 1996, 1997 and again in 1999. She also had convictions for misconduct involving a controlled substance and resisting arrest, as well as a prior conviction of leaving the scene of an accident.

"What time she has served to date has had no impact as far as reforming her or as far as her conduct," said assistant district attorney Kim Carnot. "She seems to have no regard for the safety of others."

Defense attorney Larry Wiggins said Kelley has a record of alcohol problems and she knows she needs to address that.

"I would ask the court to suspend the majority of time, with some incarceration but also an opportunity to get into an appropriate program for treatment," Wiggins said.

In view of her record, Zwink said Kelley constitutes a danger to others.

"Clearly, she should not be on the road," Zwink said. "The factual side of this case is frightening. The actions are so outrageous and do present a danger to others."

Zwink found that, because of her remorse and the seriousness with which she viewed her own actions, Kelley has a good chance of being rehabilitated. He required that 180 days of her sentence be used to complete substance-abuse treatment. She is to be on probation 10 years with a requirement that she not drink during that time. Zwink required that she pay the Ash family $575 in restitution and report March 20 to the Cordova Center, where she will be routed to the facility where her sentence is to be served.

Kelley's license is revoked for 10 years.