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Trial begins for woman in 2008 Seward Highway crash

January 29, 2010
  • Danielle Jennett is charged with manslaughter in a July 2008 crash on the Seward Highway. (File/KTUU-DT)
Danielle Jennett is charged with manslaughter in a July 2008 crash on the Seward Highway. (File/KTUU-DT)

by Ashton Goodell
Thursday, January 28, 2010

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The trial began Thursday for an Anchorage woman accused of manslaughter in a fatal wreck that happened on the Seward Highway in July of 2008.

Danielle Jennett crossed the double yellow line while traveling northbound on the Seward Highway near Girdwood.

The car slammed into an oncoming pickup truck. Two people were killed in the crash, including Jennett's passenger. 

It was one of several fatal crashes along the narrow stretch of road, and is the one crash that's been made into an example.

"The vehicles collided. There was quite an explosion," said Jamie Biggers, who witnessed the crash.

It was a sight so horrible that curious drivers stuck along the Seward Highway edged in closer to see what happened.

"So many people were coming up trying to take pictures with their cell phones. A lot of us kind of just tried to shield the scene so… I guess we felt like that was shielding some privacy for him," Biggers said.

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Witnesses saw a car slowly drift into the opposite lane of traffic.

A driver following behind Jennett said it look like she was speeding, but wasn't driving recklessly.

"I kept thinking there's time to pull back over, there's time for the car to get back over, and it just kept coming toward the yellow line," Biggers said.

Jennett's attorney says there's no way to tell what caused the crash on that clear summer day.

It could have been the sun in her eyes, or maybe something else.

"You can't really rule out there being a problem with her car with the steering?" defense attorney Paul Stockler asked State Trooper Howard Peterson.

"That's correct," Peterson answered.

"There's lots of possible causes for this accident we just don't know what caused it, correct?" Stockler continued.

Jennett wasn't drunk. A test showed Jennett's blood alcohol level was well below the legal limit. Investigators found an anti-anxiety drug in her urine, but prosecutors didn't bring that up in the case.

"How long or how many months did you continue to investigate this collision?" prosecuting attorney Clint Campion asked Peterson.

"Up until probably months ago," he answered.

The man driving the pick-up, Jeffrey McClure, was pinned to his steering wheel. He died at the scene.

"After the accident I went up to it and pulled the cab off and tried to give as best assistance as I could," said Lee Wasson, who saw the accident.

Jennett's passenger, Riley McVitty, made it through the night, but was pulled off life support a few days after the crash.

"It's hard to look at your son. In 23 years he had never had a broken bone or a stitch so I had never seen him in that condition before," his father, William McVitty Jr. said.

Even more than a year and a half later, there are lots of people watching, still trying to figure out why Jennett crossed the line.

Jennett hasn't said whether she plans to testify. The trial will wrap up next week.

The prescription anti-anxiety drug found in her system is known to cause drowsiness, but the judge threw that argument out early on in the case.

Contact Ashton Goodell at agoodell@ktuu.com

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