Morning Sentinel
Suspect in snowmobile death pleads not guilty
By BETTY JESPERSEN
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel Saturday, April 28, 2007

FARMINGTON -- A Farmington woman charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of a snowmobile rider in February was arraigned Friday.

Sarah Forbes, 43, also is charged with felony operating under the influence of alcohol and causing the death of another person. She pleaded not guilty in Franklin County Superior Court.

On Feb. 25, Forbes' Mercury Mountaineer struck a 1990 Ski-Doo snowmobile operated by Richard Billian, 23, of Strong, at about 10:30 p.m. on Wilton Road, according to court documents.

According to court documents, Forbes' blood alcohol level at the time of the crash was .16 percent, twice the legal limit.

Forbes, who lives off High Street in Farmington, is currently out of jail on an unsecured bond on the condition that she not drive. She also was ordered not to possess or consume alcohol, and to submit to random searches and testing for alcohol use.

Billian and his fiancˇe, Lisa Cerqueira, 20, had been riding on a trail with a group of friends, according to police. One of the front runners on the sled got hung up on the curbing. According to the police report, as Billian got off to adjust it, the snowmobile was hit broadside.

Police said the impact threw Cerqueira 100 feet, leaving her critically injured with a torn aorta, liver lacerations and a shattered leg and arm. She died three days later.

In court Friday, Forbes, standing beside her attorney, John Alsop of Skowhegan, quietly answered "not guilty" to Judge Joseph Jabar's question on how she wished to plead to the charges.

A trial could take place as early as June but might be delayed until September due to the large amount of expert testimony both sides are expected to amass to prove their case to a jury, according to Franklin County Assistant District Attorney James Andrews.

Betty Jespersen -- 778-6991

bjespersen@centralmaine.com


Reader comments

Sort by: Oldest first | Newest First

1-10 of 10 comments:

felix of Canaan, ME
Apr 29, 2007 7:55 PM
She was ordered not to operate a vehicle and not to drink. ya right! what a joke! I have a neighbor who was caught drunk driving and is still driving AND drinking, he just avoids any and all roads that he believes there will be no cops on to catch him. I can't wait til the day he gets caught. report abuse
John of Camden, ME
Apr 29, 2007 10:45 AM
People who are known to be drunks who drive should be mandated to only operate one-passenger golf carts that go 15 mph top speed. Either that or a three wheel bicycle with a speed regulator.report abuse
Nelson Donnell of West Gardiner, ME
Apr 29, 2007 9:30 AM
I see that someone has gone from saying in essence that they are "sure" this particular accident would not have happened, by now saying the accident "may have been avoided" had Ms. Forbes not been a drunk who was supposedly "drunk" at the time of operation.

I suddenly detect a level of reasonable doubt there in this change from "sure" to "may", and I'm going to totally ignore the libelous remark of Ms. Forbes being a "drunk".

But I still haven't heard anyone's reasoning for making excuses for persons of authority. Perhaps these people want to ignore how a supposedly sober sheriff's deputy can plow into two white heifers on Route 4 and not be held to the same level of criminally liability for his failure to avoid that accident? Is there a double standard for persons of authority or is it just a result of government sponsored mind control?

report abuse
JAS of Skowhegan, ME
Apr 29, 2007 7:21 AM
.......ya know, you ppl who are defending this woman because, "at any given moment, an accident can happen to anyone", dont you think you're missing the point here just a little BIT?? No one needs a "B/A Level" to know THIS particular accident involving this drunk, may have been avoided had she not been "drunk" & had more presence of mind to react!!! GET IT????? report abuse
Leon Richard of Farmington, ME
Apr 29, 2007 7:21 AM
A layer of tinfoil inside your hat helps reduce the rays' effects. As a former law enforcement officer, I've always felt that more people should be charged criminally after traffic "accidents". More often than not, these incidents should be called "stupids".

That said, there can be no argument that when ones' blood alcohol content is 3 times the legal limit, the alcohol "might" have been a prevailing factor in the accident.

The courts will sort it out. Meantime, the two cows in the road were struck because the headlights of the vehicle stopped in the opposing lane blinded the driver. "Shoulda, coulda, woulda,"... I usually slow rapidly when someone is stopped on the other side of the road in a rural area. Moose, deer, sick people... but I don't always do so. Could have been me that struck the cows.

Of course, the two incidents are drastically different. One involved a driver who was impaired. While some discussion may be had about the presumption of impairment, and the degree of impairment, at .08%, there can be no argument at .16%. One was on a two lane road, with a vehicle stopped facing the opposing way with headlights glaring. The other involved a four lane road, no opposing traffic, and someone was killed and another was injured.

The woman may well be found innocent. We're certainly not party to all the facts of the case. From outside, it doesn't look good for her. She was drunk, and struck a snowmobile at the edge of the travelled portion of a four lane road. She killed the passenger, and injured the operator who had gotten off the machine to free it from the curb. It's not looking good for her. report abuse
Nelson Donnell of West Gardiner, ME
Apr 28, 2007 7:48 PM
Gee, I guess somebody better tell those people who are not over a specific B/A level, but still get into accidents, that they were suppose to be able to avoid those accidents that they were involved in.

Somebody better tell that sheriff's deputy that ran into those two white heifers on Route 4 a couple of weeks ago (at around the same time frame at night) that he should have been able to avoid that collision with those white heifers, but he didn't.

The truth of the matter is that at any given moment anyone behind the wheel can have a moment of inattentiveness that can, and quite often does, results in an accident. This is especially true when objects are in the travel lane of moving traffic at night time.

But, through government sponsored mind control, people choose to only see what they have been programed to see and they turn a blind eye to the obvious and make excuses for those who are in positions of authority.report abuse
Leon Richard of Farmington, ME
Apr 28, 2007 3:10 PM
If a fully aware driver struck the snowmobile it would be considered assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder. report abuse
JAS of Skowhegan, ME
Apr 28, 2007 9:44 AM
re:Watchman; Good point. I'm sure that it was the fact that a drunk driver hit these people that it was considered the crime that it is. She broke the law immediately when she got into her vehicle BECAUSE of the condition she was in. The second crime was hitting these people because of her impaired state.If she had been sober, I'm SURE this would not have happened. She would have had the presence of mind to react. That presence is absent when you're DRUNK!! Not guilty?? I think NOT!!
report abuse
watchman of Livermore Falls, ME
Apr 28, 2007 8:46 AM
IF, and that is a big IF, she had not been drinking would this not have been treated as an accident? There is no way to forgive her for her self induced drunkedness and the fact she drove while intoxicated. She deserves whatever the law allows if convicted. If a fully aware driver had struck this snowmobile, would there have been a trial? Just asking.report abuse
papasmurf of skowhegan, ME
Apr 28, 2007 7:40 AM
want to know what, when her sentence is done and over that will be the end of it.
but the family will be scared for life, deeply scared...we have no justice here.
PUT ALL drunks on the registry...protect us all!!!report abuse

You must be a registered user of MaineToday.com to post a comment. Register or log in.