Marie Struss awaits the beginning of Kristin Lake's trial on charges of negligent homicide — driving under the influence, related to a head-on collision that left two dead, at the Sullivan County Superior Court, in Newport, N.H., on Monday, Oct. 15, 2018.Struss's son had planned to marry Michelle Fenimore, who died in the collision. (Valley News - August Frank) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.
Marie Struss awaits the beginning of Kristin Lake's trial on charges of negligent homicide — driving under the influence, related to a head-on collision that left two dead, at the Sullivan County Superior Court, in Newport, N.H., on Monday, Oct. 15, 2018.Struss's son had planned to marry Michelle Fenimore, who died in the collision. (Valley News - August Frank) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Credit: August Frank

Newport — A 23-year-old Sharon woman was driving drunk and fell asleep at the wheel when she crossed the centerline in September 2017 on Route 10 in Croydon and collided with an oncoming vehicle, killing both of its occupants, prosecutors told a Sullivan County jury on Monday during opening statements in a negligent homicide trial.

But the defense argued that one of the victims, who was behind the wheel of the other vehicle, could be at least partially to blame for the collision.

Defendant Kristin Lake faces two counts of negligent homicide — DUI, in connection with the deaths of Newport residents Michelle Fenimore, 20, and Nicholas Carpenter, 18. She has pleaded not guilty.

Lake’s lead attorney, James Valente, said during his opening statement that Lake wasn’t impaired at the time of the crash. He also asserted that “gouge” marks in the pavement prove that the collision took place in Lake’s travel lane.

Finally, Valente said that Fenimore, who was driving the other vehicle, might have been using her cellphone at the time of the crash.

Lake’s blood was drawn at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center roughly two hours after the crash and it came back with a blood alcohol content of .114, a figure Valente said is irrelevant.

“It’s not, ‘Was she impaired an hour and a half later at the hospital?’ ” he said of the case to jurors.

Lake had two drinks — which she said varied in strength — with a friend at the Newport Moose Lodge the night of the crash, and had the second one in close proximity to when she left, Valente said.

He contends that creates doubt about whether Lake was legally intoxicated at the time of the crash. He said that if officials had performed a breath test after the crash, the results would have shown that his client wasn’t impaired at the time. Valente said that a defense expert will testify about how alcohol is metabolized later in the trial.

According to an interview with a police officer that was captured on body camera footage and played on Monday for jurors, Lake told police she “felt sober” when driving and that she took time to “sober up” before she left the lodge.

Evidence at the scene also will be presented at the trial, according to Valente. He said “distinct gouges” that were left in the pavement in the direction Lake was traveling indicate that is where the crash occurred.

“(These marks are) not consistent with Ms. Lake crossing the lane, but (are) actually consistent with the Fenimore vehicle coming into Ms. Lake’s lane,” he told jurors.

According to Valente, Fenimore had sent a text message while driving before the crash occurred. No one knows exactly what time the collision took place, but a call reporting the crash came into dispatch around 11:15 p.m., he said.

“When Ms. Fenimore was found at the scene … she was holding a cellphone in her right hand,” Valente said, adding that police never analyzed Fenimore’s phone after the crash.

Sullivan County Attorney Marc Hathaway and Assistant Sullivan County Attorney Geoffrey Gallagher, who are prosecuting the case, told the jury that Lake’s own statements to police on the night of the crash contradict the version of events that the defense put forward on Monday.

Prosecutors said Lake told police that she fell asleep at the wheel and crossed over into the southbound lane.

They also contend she was legally intoxicated and had multiple drinks before deciding to drive, Gallagher said.

“When you have deliberated, you will find that there is only one fair and just verdict, and that is guilty on both counts,” Gallagher told jurors.

The state put four witnesses on the stand on Monday, including Newport police officer Shawn Seymour, who was the first officer to arrive on scene.

According to Seymour, Lake told him that when she opened her eyes immediately before the crash, she was headed toward the oncoming vehicle and tried to swerve back into her lane at the last instant.

Also on the stand on Monday, Croydon Police Chief Richard Lee testified that he photographed the scene and didn’t recall seeing a cellphone in Fenimore’s hand.

Seymour also testified that he did not recall seeing a cellphone.

Asked by prosecutors whether Lake appeared impaired on the scene, Seymour testified that he didn’t write that in his official report, and said he would have if he thought she was.

New Hampshire State Police Trooper Charles Newton, who met Lake at the hospital, also testified he didn’t detect any signs of impairment.

Lake’s parents were among those in the gallery, as was Fenimore’s father and grandfather.

Fenimore was engaged to Carpenter’s brother, Trevor Morse, at the time of the crash.

If convicted, Lake faces a maximum prison sentence of 30 years.

The trial is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. today in the Newport courthouse.

Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.