A drunk driver has been sentenced to one year in prison for crashing into the back of a car on East Smith Road, sending a toddler she was babysitting to a Seattle hospital.
Jolene Rae Maureen Sam, 31, of La Conner, had a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit at 10:10 p.m. Dec. 23, when she crashed into the back of a Honda CRV at the four-way intersection of East Smith and Everson Goshen roads, according to Whatcom County Superior Court records.
Sam's 8-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old girl in the car weren't properly restrained. The toddler was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center after doctors found injuries to her liver. Nobody else was hurt.
Breathalyzer tests showed Sam had a blood alcohol level between 0.196 and 0.230 two hours after the crash. The legal limit is 0.08.
Sam pleaded guilty to vehicular assault last week. She must spend a year behind bars and undergo treatment for substance abuse.
Reach Caleb Hutton at 360-715-2276 or caleb.hutton@bellinghamherald.com. Read his dispatcher blog at blogs.bellinghamherald.com/dispatcher or follow him on Twitter at @bhamcrime.
