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Retrial Ordered In Crash That Killed 2 Librarians

DENVER (AP/CBS4) - An appeals court ordered a new trial for a Denver woman convicted in a 2009 drunken-driving crash that killed two Connecticut librarians.

The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled Thursday the trial judge should have asked jurors whether they saw news reports during the trial about defendant Sandra Jacobson's previous convictions, including one for drunken driving.

Jacobson's lawyers asked the judge to question jurors about the reports, but he declined, saying he had already instructed them not to watch or read any news about the case.

The appeals court said the information was potentially prejudicial and the judge should have queried the jurors.

Kate McClelland, 71, and Kathleen Krasniewicz, 54, both of Greenwich, Connecticut, were killed in the January 2009 crash.

Jacobson was convicted in 2010 of vehicular homicide, assault, drunken driving and leaving the scene of an accident. She was sentenced to 36 years in prison.

No new trial date has been set.

CBS4 spoke to Krasniewicz's daughter, Erin Krasniewicz, on Friday.

"I'm not angry," she said. "It's just very disappointing."

McClelland and Krasniewicz were taking a taxi to Denver International Airport to return home after a conference when Jacobson's vehicle collided with the taxi on a highway leading to the airport.

Fatal Taxi 2
Kate McClelland, left, and Kathleen Krasniewicz (courtesy to CBS)

The taxi rolled, ejecting the two women. The cab driver survived with injuries.

Jacobson was driving 85 mph and her blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit several hours after the crash, investigators said.

Jacobson told them she was not aware of the crash and continued driving to the airport to ship a dog, investigators said. Her attorney said she drank a mix of schnapps and water after she got to the airport.

The attorney told jurors the cab driver was responsible for the collision and that the women weren't wearing seat belts. The cab driver denied causing the crash.

In the ruling, the appellate court said "the trial court erred when it refused (Jacobson's) counsel's request to poll the jury concerning exposure to mid-trial publicity."

Jacobson's attorneys, at the time, said they were concerned that a story aired by CBS4 during the trial that detailed Jacobson's past convictions would influence the jury.

Krasneiwicz's daughter said it was made clear during the trial that the jury must avoid any and all media.

"It's pretty shocking that all the charges could be reversed on such a small technicality," she said.

Krasneiwicz said she's not worried about another trial.

"I think any future jury is going to see the truth and act on that," she said.

(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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