Cook found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in fatal crash

[Pool Hall Ace]

RALEIGH -- Raymond Cook, the doctor charged with the second-degree murder of a ballerina in a 2009 car wreck, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and felony death by vehicle by a Wake County jury today.

The verdict follows more than a week of testimony in a case that focused on whether Cook acted maliciously when he consumed alcohol before getting behind the wheel of his Mercedes on Sept. 11, 2009.

Prosecutors contended that Cook got drunk and drove 75 to 100 mph before slamming into the car of Elena Shapiro at the intersection of Lead Mine and Strickland roads. Shapiro, an apprentice at the Carolina Ballet, died as a result of the crash.

Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/03/01/1022039/cook-found-guilty-of-involuntary.html#disqus_thread#ixzz1FN5x1j4X

This case has really resonated with me, I believe because my husband is an alcoholic. :(