Police Defend Decision Not To Jail DUI Suspect

Everett police are defending their decision not to jail a woman suspected of drunken driving after a fatal crash.

Two people were killed in the collision at 41st Street and Broadway on Friday night.

Police said their job is to build a case for prosecutors that will keep whoever caused it behind bars and that arresting someone now could make that difficult.

The woman suspected of driving an SUV the wrong way and smashing head-on into another car was arrested Friday night, but she was released without charges after police said they got what they needed.

"We can, under law, go take a blood sample from the suspect, and that's what we did at the hospital Friday night," said Robert Goetz of the Everett Police Department.

Results from the State Crime Lab could take up to six weeks.

Investigators are also reconstructing the crash scene and waiting for autopsy results to clearly state the injuries that killed the two victims.

The problem is time: Once a suspect is charged, a trial date has to be set.

"If they remain in jail, that clock is running for 60 days," said Goetz.

Karen Minahan was hit by a drunken driver 13 years ago and lost her leg.

"It was horrifying," she said.

She said driver was arrested and charged right away, so she doesn't understand why the suspect in this case has not spent a night in jail.

"I think it's an insult really," said Minahan.

Sheena Blair's family disagrees. The 24-year-old was one of the victim's in Friday's crash.

Her father said he doesn't doubt how officers are handling the case.

"We're going to leave our faith and our trust and our confidence in the justice system and the law enforcement professionals that are handling that aspect of this situation," Frank Blair said.

Police said even if the driver was charged and released, there's no way to keep her off the roads.

They said she's not a flight risk because she's from the area and only has a few traffic infractions on her record.