Pittsfield man pleads guilty to drunk driving for incident in which his wife died and his daughter was injured.
PITTSFIELD — A Pittsfield man received a two-year suspended sentence for drunk driving after he entered a plea of guilty to a second offense misdemeanor OUI charge filed in connection with a 2011 incident in which his wife was killed and his daughter injured.
James Benlien, of Pittsfield was sentenced in Central Berkshire District Court Wednesday.
The Berkshire Eagle reports that police reports state that Benlien and his wife had been to a bar and as he drove home the two argued. At one point his wife opened the door of the moving car and got out. She suffered a head injury as she hit the pavement and later died. Benlien's attorney said he was not aware that his wife had been injured.
The defendant's daughter, who was with her parents at the time, also jumped from the moving car after her mother. She suffered abrasions in the fall.
Even then Benlien did not stop the vehicle but continued driving until he arrived at his home.
In court, Assistant District Attorney Daniel Hespeler said Benlien had been drinking and admitted taking drugs as well. He refused to tell police what drugs he took, however.
A Berkshire County grand jury had earlier refused to indict Benlien on a charge of leaving the scene of an accident involving a death, but did indict him on a charge of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.