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A Manchester woman who was injured in a collision with a drunken driver last year is outraged at a plea bargain deal the State's Attorney's Office offered the man accused of hitting her.
Assistant State's Attorney Kelly Galvin recommended Wednesday in Carroll County Circuit Court that Scott Grubb, of Littlestown, Pa., serve just 30 days in jail for the accident.
"I feel like I'm being victimized twice," said the accident victim, Denise Stracke, 45. "I thought the State's Attorney's Office was there to represent the people of the state."
Stracke said she was flown to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center with injuries that included a neck broken in two places, concussion, collapsed lungs and six broken ribs after the collision February 2005 in Manchester.
According to court records, Grubb, 24, had a blood alcohol content of .29 after the crash. The legal limit in Maryland is .08.
Carroll Circuit Judge Michael Galloway found Grubb guilty Wednesday but deferred sentencing until July 5.
Galvin said she chose not to take the case to trial because she was worried the defense would challenge the validity of the blood alcohol evidence. Galvin said no one from the Maryland State Police was available to conduct an official blood alcohol content reading on Grubb after the accident, so the .29 reading that was taken at the hospital.
"By doing it this way, we guarantee that we ask for jail and we have the opportunity to ask for restitution," she said. "It's a real toss-up if it goes to trial."
Restitution in the case, Galvin said, is more than $18,000.
Galvin said her case was further weakened by an accident report from the Manchester Police Department that faulted Stracke for turning in front of Grubb's vehicle.
In return for pursuing driving while impaired charges, which have a maximum penalty of 60 days in jail, instead of the more serious driving under the influence charges, which can carry up to a year in jail, Grubb's attorney, Mark J. Muffoletto, has agreed not to challenge the BAC evidence.
"We were prepared to challenge any type of reading," Muffoletto said. "It was honestly a situation where it could have been an all or nothing for both sides."
Stracke can seek additional damages in civil court as well, added Deputy State's Attorney Clarence William Beall III.
Conversely, Stracke said Grubb has filed a civil suit against her seeking $500,000 in damages on grounds she failed to avoid the accident.
Nancy Kelly, a volunteer with the organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving, who sat in during the court proceedings Wednesday, said she was disturbed by the proceedings.
"I've done a lot of court monitoring, and I've seen a lot of DUI cases ... and this one is very troubling," she said. "This crash resulted in a very, very serious injury. Ms. Stracke nearly died and it seemed to be treated very routinely."
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