Woman pleads not guilty in Cd'A Lake Drive crashes
COEUR d'ALENE - A Coeur d'Alene woman pleaded not guilty to multiple charges stemming from allegations that she caused two serious vehicle crashes on Coeur d'Alene Lake Drive.
Kara Powers, 34, faces felony counts of grand theft, aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and leaving the scene of an injury accident. During an arraignment hearing in Kootenai County District Court on Thursday, Powers emphatically replied "not guilty" when asked by Judge Lansing Haynes how she would plead.
The crash occurred on Jan. 21, 2014, when a vehicle driven by Patricia Desmet, 61, was struck by a Mercedes SUV driven by Powers. Powers' vehicle was reportedly on the wrong side of the road.
A good Samaritan, Coeur d'Alene resident Sheri Bullock, 42, pulled her vehicle over and left her three children inside as she went to check on the drivers involved in the crash. At that point, Powers - who according to police reports was wearing a black bathrobe, sweatpants and slippers - allegedly walked to Bullock's Volvo and got into it.
With Bullock's three children inside the Volvo, Powers reportedly attempted to drive away. In a previous article on the incident, Bullock told The Press that her 13-year-son kicked open the back door and left the Volvo. Bullock said her son repeatedly hit Powers, making it possible for Bullock to pull her daughter from the vehicle.
Then, according to police investigators, Powers drove the Volvo at a high speed and eventually rear-ended a Dodge pickup on Coeur d'Alene Lake Drive near Potlatch Hill. Both vehicles rolled multiple times. William Akin, 48, the driver of the pickup, was seriously injured.
Detectives allegedly discovered several pills on the floorboard of Powers' vehicle and, according to a police report, also found prescription pill bottles "labeled for Kara Powers' consumption."
The report adds the detective met with Powers after she was transported to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, where the woman told them that she had suffered from several medical conditions requiring various prescription medication.
"With regards to what had happened that morning, Powers told me she vaguely recalls waking, going into the bathroom, dumping all her pills down the drain for unknown reasons, (and) does recall taking one of her pain pills before dumping the rest," the detective's report states.
When the detective asked Powers why she woke up early and decided to leave her home, the woman allegedly told him she wanted an attorney.
In an email to The Press, Powers' attorney Jim Siebe wrote that criminal prosecution of the case would "not only be unjust, but a waste of taxpayers' money as well." Siebe wrote that Powers was hospitalized in early 2014 for viral meningitis and was also in the process of making arrangements for spinal surgery, which left her sleep-deprived and in considerable pain.
"We believe that the driving was an unconscious act; an episode of sleep driving brought on by the combination factors described above or as the result of a lingering infection," Siebe wrote.
A week-long jury trial has been scheduled for Jan. 5, 2016, in Kootenai County District Court.