news-record.com

GRAHAM (MCT) — A Reidsville woman charged with driving while impaired and killing the passenger in her car in a December 2009 wreck pleaded guilty in Alamance County Superior Court last week.

Andrea Leigh Forrest, 41, of N.C. 150 in Reidsville was originally charged with second-degree murder and aggravated felony death by motor vehicle. She was accused of driving while impaired and killing James Anderson Dodson Jr., 41, of Pelham in a single-car crash on N.C. 87 North on Dec. 4, 2009.

Forrest pleaded guilty to aggravated death by motor vehicle. The state dismissed the second-degree murder charge.

Superior Court Judge Howard Manning sentenced her to 38 to 51 months in prison, a minimum of three years, two months and a maximum of four years, three months. Manning recommended that Forrest participate in work release programs and use the money earned to pay $964.50 in restitution, court costs and other fees.

Court documents showed that Trooper P.M. Thornton estimated Forrest’s speed at the time of the crash at 70 mph in a 55 mph zone.

Dodson was killed on impact. Forrest was injured in the crash and was flown to Duke Medical Center in Durham.

According to court documents, Thornton noted a “strong odor of alcohol” about Forrest at the scene and also wrote that her speech was slurry and that she had red, glassy eyes. Results of a blood-alcohol test didn’t mention alcohol but noted the presence of citalopram, an anti-depressant, in Forrest’s bloodstream.

At the time of the wreck, Forrest had a provisional license that precluded her from drinking any alcohol and driving because of a previous DWI conviction, according to warrants.