Woman wants baby death case dismissed

A Milford woman facing an involuntary manslaughter charge in the death of her baby boy wants the case dismissed. Alissa Pugh, 28, was indicted by a grand jury in June on charges that her failure to seek medical attention prior to, or at the time of, the delivery of her son last January led to the baby's death. Prosecutors say the baby was later discovered in the back of a trash truck. But Pugh's lawyer filed a motion to dismiss at a hearing on Friday on the grounds that insufficient evidence was presented to a grand jury to establish that the fetus could have survived outside the womb. The judge did not immediately rule on the motion, which was opposed by the district attorney's office. (AP)

A driver who crashed her car into Brockton Hospital, killing two, will be charged in the deaths. Jane Berghold, 76, is scheduled to be arraigned on Feb. 21 on two counts of motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation. Police reports say Berghold pressed the accelerator instead of the brake when she drove the car through the front doors of the hospital's radiation therapy unit in October. The crash killed Dr. Mark Vasa, 58, of Norwell and Susan Plante, 59, of Bridgewater, a secretary in the unit. Berghold, a breast cancer patient, was driving to the hospital to meet doctors. Her lawyer, Kevin Reddington, said his client is very sick and depressed about what happened. (AP)

A 22-year-old snowboarder from Auburn, Mass., who died at Steamboat Ski Area in Colorado may have suffocated after falling head first into a tree well, Routt County Coroner Rob Ryg said. A friend tried but was unable Friday to pull Jared Daniel out of the tree well, an unstable hole or depression that can develop around trees after a heavy snowfall. Others joined Daniel's friend and got him out after about 15 minutes. But CPR failed to revive him. It was at least the seventh skiing or snowboarding death in Colorado this season. (AP)

Police say they have smashed a major heroin and cocaine distribution ring operating in the Berkshires with the arrests of six people last week. Police seized thousands of dollars worth of drugs as well as a gun in raids on various locations in Adams, Williamstown, Pittsfield, and Greenfield. The raids were the result of a three-month investigation by the Berkshire County Drug Task Force. Police are still looking for the alleged ringleader of the group, who they say may have fled the state. Police say they made several undercover purchases of drugs at apartments and hotel rooms in the region. Some of the suspects were allegedly dealing drugs out of homes where young children live. Those children have been placed in the custody of the state. (AP)

Three people, including two from Maine, were killed in a collision between a tractor-trailer and a car on Alabama Highway 59, just south of Loxley, state troopers said. Charles H. Miller Jr., 64, of Benton, Maine, apparently pulled his car onto the highway into the path of a southbound tractor-trailer about 7 p.m. Friday. The truck struck the car on the driver's side. Miller, his wife, Emelda F. Miller, 61, and another passenger, Mona J. Carter, 39, of Loxley, died in the crash, troopers said. The Millers had on seatbelts in the front seat. Carter was in the back seat and had not been wearing a seat belt, troopers said. The truck driver was slightly injured. The accident remained under investigation yesterday. (AP)

Police are investigating whether excessive speed was a factor in a single-car accident that killed two young women from Warwick. Kelly Ann Richer, 22, and Heather Drew, 18, died Thursday when the car they were driving in spun around and hit a tree broadside. Police said they were not wearing seat belts. Police are also investigating whether either of the women were drinking. The crash happened just a mile from Drew's home. (AP)

Maine's 2007 blueberry harvest came in at 3 percent above the 2006 crop and is expected to have a record value based on preliminary numbers. Wild blueberry growers last summer harvested 76.9 million pounds worth an estimated $71.5 million, the New England office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Friday. The crop is the fourth-largest on record and the state's biggest since growers harvested 80.4 million pounds in 2003. (AP)