DENVER—A jury convicted a woman Wednesday of killing two Connecticut librarians while driving drunk and crashing into a taxi taking the victims to the Denver airport after a convention.
Jurors deliberated less than a day before delivering their verdict in the trial of Sandra Jacobson, 41, of Centennial.
Investigators told jurors Jacobson’s blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit several hours after the crash that killed Kate McClelland, 71, and Kathleen Krasniewicz, 54, both of Greenwich, Conn.
Jacobson was handcuffed and led away by deputies after the verdict. Crying and trembling, she glanced briefly at her family before she was escorted out of the courtroom. Jacobson argued that authorities should have investigated the taxi driver.
“It’s not fair, they didn’t investigate anyone else,” an emotional Jacobson told reporters outside the courtroom as sheriff’s deputies walked her to an elevator. Jacobson, who had been free on $250,000 bail, is now being held on $1 million.
Jacobson’s attorney, Charles Elliott, said the verdict would be appealed.
Jacobson was convicted of two counts of vehicular homicide, assault, drunken driving and two counts of leaving the scene of an accident. Prosecutors estimated she could face up to 36 years in prison when she is sentenced June 4.
Investigators said Jacobson was driving 85 mph at the time of the highway collision. The taxi rolled over, ejecting the two victims.
After the verdict, McClelland’s daughter, Lauren McCLelland Mendoza, thanked police and prosecutors for their work.
“We now hope to be able to begin the process of healing from our grievous loss,” the New Fairfield, Conn., resident said in a written statement.
Jacobson’s supporters left the courtroom immediately after the verdict, declining to comment except for an expletive directed at a reporter.
Prosecutor Christine Washburn said Jacobson had to be held accountable for taking the lives of two innocent victims.
“She took no responsibility,” Washburn said. “We believed she either knew that she hit the cab and knew she was drunk and left the scene, or she was so drunk that she didn’t even realize it.”
Jacobson testified she had a banana schnapps mixed with vitamin water—what she called a “road pop”—after the collision.
She has said she was unaware the crash had occurred while she was driving to the airport to ship a puppy named Baxter to her brother in Dallas.
During the trial, Elliott said Jacobson was sober during the crash but had alcohol in her system because of the cocktail she consumed later.
Her defense attorneys tried to blame the crash on the taxi driver and said the librarians were ejected because they weren’t wearing seat belts.
Prosecutors described Jacobson as unrepentant after the crash, saying she never said she was sorry after learning the crash killed two women. Police said she was driving with a suspended license at the time.
She had a blood-alcohol level of 0.16 and had difficulty keeping her balance more than five hours after the crash, police said.
