Hung jury in fatal DWI case

A judge declared a mistrial Tuesday after a jury found it impossible to decide if a pregnant Miller Place woman was impaired by drugs and alcohol when her car hit another head-on in Ridge, killing a couple and the baby she was carrying.

After over 40 hours of deliberation over six days, state Supreme Court Justice William Condon ended the trial in the aggravated vehicular homicide case against Jennifer Jorgensen, 31.

"It is just a tremendously difficult case with incredibly complex issues," Condon said.

Authorities say Jorgensen, who was 8 months pregnant at the time, was impaired by a combination of alcohol and clonazepam, a prescription anti-anxiety drug, as she drove on Whiskey Road in May 2008.

Jorgensen hit a car driven by Robert Kelly, 74, with his wife Mary Kelly, 70, killing both. Jorgensen's daughter was born by emergency Caesarean section and died soon afterward.

She also faced three counts of second-degree manslaughter and a count of driving while impaired by alcohol and drugs. If convicted, she faced a maximum of 81/3 to 25 years in prison.

Jurors struggled to figure out from inconsistent scientific evidence if Jorgensen was impaired when she drifted into the Kellys' lane.

A small blood sample taken by doctors an hour after the crash at Stony Brook University Hospital initially tested negative for alcohol. Later, Suffolk forensic scientists added other blood to test it further and found a .06 percent blood-alcohol content, but Jorgensen and her lawyers said handling and testing of that sample was improper.

A separate blood sample taken later at the hospital by police was negative for alcohol. Jorgensen's daughter's urine was positive for alcohol, too. The baby also had small amounts of marijuana in her system, but Condon ruled that inadmissible at trial.

"We stand ready to retry the case," said John Collins, chief trial prosecutor for the Suffolk district attorney's office.

Christopher Abbott of Hauppauge, one of Jorgensen's attorneys, said, "We have a client we firmly believe is innocent, and we'll continue fighting."

In a statement, the Kelly family said they "hope that justice will prevail and that Ms. Jorgensen will eventually be convicted of the crimes she committed on that day."

Jurors reported they were split 7 to 5 on each count -- but the majority for some counts was for conviction and acquittal for others.

"I had trouble determining whether she was impaired," said juror Daysha Everette of Shirley. "It just didn't add up to me."

Another juror, Jermaine Creighton, of Wyandanch, said the fact that first responders smelled no alcohol on Jorgensen's breath was key. "We had reasonable doubt with so many things, we couldn't figure it out," he said.