A long-haul trucker, the former head of a foundation and a mother of eight are among those who will determine the fate of a woman facing multiple charges in a 2009 crash that took the lives of two Connecticut librarians.
The jury of 12 women and two men — two will be designated alternates — was seated Monday afternoon in the case of Sandra Jacobson, who faces six charges stemming from the fatal crash on Peña Boulevard.
Prosecutors allege that Jacobson was driving drunk on Jan. 28, 2009, and that she lost control of a pickup which veered into a taxi van. The van, in turn, slid off the road and rolled over, throwing Kate McClelland, 71, and Kathleen Krasniewicz, 54, to their deaths.
Jacobson drove on to the airport and later told police she had no idea she’d been in a collision with another vehicle.
The process of seating a jury was a two-day affair. Ninety prospective jurors spent part of Friday filling out a questionnaire. Monday morning, prospective jurors were questioned, one at a time, in Judge Robert McGahey Jr.’s chambers by him, prosecutors and defense attorneys.
A prosecutor and a defense attorney spent Monday afternoon asking questions of prospective jurors that may have offered glimpses of the issues they’ll tackle during the trial.
Prosecutor Darryl Shockley asked prospective jurors their views on legal concepts such as the “burden of proof” and “reasonable doubt.” He also asked whether they thought it would be possible for someone to be intoxicated but not outwardly exhibit those effects.
Jacobson had contact with six police officers, none of whom suspected she was drunk, before an investigator requested that she undergo breath and blood tests. Those tests, conducted hours after the crash, showed a blood-alcohol level well above the legal limit.
Similarly, defense attorney Charles Elliott asked prospective jurors about the “presumption of innocence” and their views on the use of alcohol. He also asked if they understood why someone might not tell the entire truth when first confronted about something.
Jacobson told officers that she had consumed only cough medicine before the crash, according to police reports.
Jacobson, 41, faces two counts of vehicular homicide, two counts of leaving the scene of an accident, third-degree assault and driving while under the influence of alcohol.
Two other charges, alleging that she drove with a suspended license and violated the conditions of her bail, have been severed from this trial and will be considered separately.
