Anchorage Daily News

PALMER -- Renee Ellison, a Valley woman convicted last month of drunken and reckless driving as well as four counts of assault, will get a new trial in July.

Monday afternoon Palmer Superior Court Judge Beverly Cutler sided with defense attorney Bruce Brown when he raised questions about the testimony of crash victim Kimball Allred.

The victim was injured when Ellison's car slammed into Allred's taxi June 18, 2006.

Cutler said she could count on one hand the number of new trials she has ordered in her 30-year career. Information gathered by Ellison's defense team about Allred's prior medical conditions warrants a second look, the judge said.

The most serious charge against Ellison, first-degree assault, was based on Allred having serious physical injuries, Cutler said. Brown said he has evidence that Allred had back problems before the collision that she didn't mention during Ellison's trial in April.

In addition, Cutler said Allred required no surgeries or casts that would indicate serious injury.

Allred, now 50, of Wasilla, spent eight days in the hospital and returned to work after three months and then only part time, according to trial testimony.

A jury April 18 took 90 minutes to find Ellison guilty. The 23-year-old mother of three was facing seven to 11 years in prison on the first-degree assault charge and possibly more time on the other charges.

The collision occurred on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway at Seward Meridian Parkway. Alaska State Troopers reported that Ellison's Mercury Sable station wagon ran a red light and hit Allred's cab. Ellison's blood-alcohol level was 0.15 after the wreck, nearly twice as high as the legal limit for drivers in Alaska.

A passenger, Jason Hamilton of Wasilla, was also injured, according to troopers.

Ellison, who turns 24 Friday, will have a bail hearing Wednesday to determine whether she can be released to a third-party custodian. The new trial is scheduled to start July 8.

Allred is facing her own DUI charge. She was arrested Dec. 7, 2007; her trial is scheduled for May 29.

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