KIRKLAND, Washington — A woman suspected in a deadly drunken driving crash in Kirkland faced charges in court Thursday, and her attorney went to unusual lengths to hide her face from KIRO 7 cameras.
Kelly Hudson appeared before a judge Thursday morning. The relatives of the woman killed in the crash were also present.
Hudson’s attorney shielded her from view with a big board, which meant we couldn’t see Hudson’s face, and neither could the victim’s relatives.
“I just wanted to see the person who caused this turmoil,” said John Kamm, whose father and aunt had to be cut out of the mangled Prius that Hudson allegedly struck two weeks ago on Juanita Drive.
His father, Art, is still in the hospital.
“He does have a broken arm, he does have a shattered hip and most of his ribs are broke,” Kamm said.
His aunt, 81-year-old Joyce Parsons, was killed.
Police said four relatives were in the car when the 42-year-old Hudson crossed the center line and struck them.
Hudson’s attorney said he hid her face so that her teenaged kids didn’t see her on TV.
“She doesn’t want her face seen, period,” defense attorney Scott Wonder said.
As KIRO 7’s Jeff Dubois pointed out, the attempt to shield Hudson’s face was somewhat odd.
“Sometimes defense attorneys will argue that we have to record defendants from the neck down, but this time, he just shielded her with a big board,” Dubois said.
“I wonder if she was afraid to show her face at home when she allegedly was taking pharmaceuticals and drinking,” Kamm said.
According to charging papers, Hudson was visibly intoxicated after the crash. She told police she had taken anti-anxiety pills with wine before getting behind the wheel.
But Wonder called that statement into question.
“Right now, there’s not enough data for anyone to figure that out,” he said.
When she was charged with three counts of vehicular assault and one count of vehicular homicide Thursday, Hudson pleaded “absolutely not guilty.”
She remains jailed on $500,000 bail.
Meanwhile, Parsons’ family members are left nursing the wounds of the survivors and remembering her.
“Just a very loving, caring, generous person,” Kamm said. “She didn’t deserve to die that way.”
The two other people injured in the car have been released from the hospital. They can’t fly because of their injuries, and are being driven back to their home in Ohio in an R.V.
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