Driver pleads guilty in fatal vehicle crash Ellsworth woman accused of manslaughter, felony OUI

ELLSWORTH – A woman whose alcohol level was nearly four times the legal limit when she crashed her car into another vehicle and killed its driver has accepted responsibility, her attorney said.

Dorothy Cook, 48, of Ellsworth, who is charged with manslaughter in the March 2006 death of 23-year-old Benedict Starbuck, changed her plea to guilty Wednesday in Hancock County Superior Court.

She also pleaded guilty to charges of felony operating under the influence and reckless conduct.

Justice Jeffrey Hjelm accepted Cook’s pleas, but she will be sentenced on the matter at a later date.

Hancock County District Attorney Michael Povich said he plans to recommend a sentence of 15 years with all but 10 years suspended, followed by a lengthy period of probation.

Cook initially pleaded not guilty last August and had been scheduled for a jury trial, but she changed her mind, her attorney said.

“She did this because she wants to take responsibility,” attorney Daniel Pileggi said.

Cook was driving a 2005 Grand Am on Main Street in Ellsworth around 2 a.m. March 4, 2006, when she rear-ended a vehicle driven by Starbuck.

The man was not wearing a seat belt and suffered extensive injuries. Starbuck died a few hours after he was taken to a local hospital.

An officer investigating the accident determined that Cook’s blood-alcohol level was 0.30 shortly after the accident and that she was driving more than 70 mph.

Some members of Starbuck’s family were present in the courtroom on Wednesday but they declined to comment on Cook’s plea.