Judge Allows Casper Woman Guilty of DUI Causing Injuries To Drive
A judge will allow a Casper woman to drive with certain conditions after being sentenced nearly a year ago to probation for driving while under the influence of alcohol and causing a crash that seriously injured two other women in 2016.
Natrona County District Court Judge Daniel Forgey granted the request of Robyn Hope Frisby to have her sentence modified in part because of her model behavior and family considerations during her five years of probation.
On Oct. 9, 2016, Frisby was driving a black 2007 Jeep on East End Road and collided head-on with a 2004 Chevrolet pickup, which was occupied by two women and a four-month-old child, according to court documents.
Frisby told a responding deputy that she had consumed two beers at her cabin earlier in the evening. She was arrested and taken to jail, where a breath sample indicated her blood-alcohol content was 0.13 at the time she was booked.
One woman sustained multiple broken bones in her legs and a broken rib, a dislocated ankle and a concussion; and the other suffered a head injury, a dislocated and fractured hip, and a fractured kneecap. Both needed multiple surgeries.
At her sentencing in November, one of the injured women spoke on Frisby's behalf, saying it would be wrong to incarcerate her and keep her from her children.
Frisby's attorney Craig Silva told Forgey that she has complied with all the requirements of her probation including paying down more than $10,000 in restitution, and she has not broken any laws. "There's a history of compliance."
She needs to be able to drive because she lives in south-central Casper, she works on the east side of Casper, her children attend school in Paradise Valley on the west side, and her job will require her to travel, Silva added.
However, Assistant District Attorney Dan Itzen questioned whether she should be allowed to drive, saying less than a year has passed since her sentencing and the injuries to the victims were severe.
Forgey agreed to let her drive, but that a breath alcohol ignition interlock device should be installed in her vehicle.
He added the court needs to balance a punishment with the progress Frisby has made.