Court Overturns Assault Sentence

A state appeals court has overturned an exceptional three-year sentence for vehicular assault, imposed after a 1988 accident in which a woman died and a pregnant woman was left comatose.

While in a coma, Barbara Blodgett delivered a healthy baby boy - the fourth such case in recorded history, doctors said. She later recovered consciousness and some motor functions.

In a decision filed Tuesday, the Third District Court of Appeals reversed the sentence imposed on Byron L. Stackhouse and sent the case back to Yakima County Superior Court for resentencing.

The higher court rejected Stackhouse's appeal of the conviction.

In the accident on June 30, 1988, Stackhouse failed to yield the right of way to another vehicle, which was struck at a Yakima

intersection.