A woman convicted of negligent homicide after a fatal boat crash and later charged with speeding on the road and nearly running down a trooper is back in court – this time for distracted driving.
Erica Blizzard, 42, of Laconia, was ticketed in September for texting while driving, which has been illegal in New Hampshire since July. She is due in court this month.
Blizzard, who was head of the New Hampshire Recreational Boaters Association, was piloting her boat on Lake Winnipesaukee with two friends aboard after a night of drinking on June 15, 2008, when she plowed into a rock ledge on Diamond Island. Stephanie Beaudoin, of Meredith, died in the crash. Another passenger, Nicole Shinopulos, of Burlington, Mass., was injured.
Blizzard required numerous reconstructive facial surgeries.
The jury found her guilty of negligent homicide, and the day after she was convicted in March 2010, she was charged with driving 84 mph on Interstate 93– almost running down a trooper who tried to wave her down– as she fumbled with her cellphone. Judge Kathleen McGuire referenced the new charge when she sentenced Blizzard to six months in jail for the boat crash.
Source: Virtual News Center
