Kaylee Harnen, a 31-year-old from Pennsylvania, and the driver of a car that first responders found flipped on its hood in Sunset Lake in December, was arraigned at the Edgartown District Court on Monday.
Harnen pleaded not guilty to all charges, including negligent operation of a motor vehicle, operating under the influence of liquor, and serious injury, a marked lanes violation, and speeding. She was accompanied in court by her brother.
Monday’s arraignment follows a dramatic rescue by Oak Bluffs Police and emergency personnel at the end of last year. Police reported that the vehicle crashed into a utility pole before landing upside-down in Sunset Lake. A member of the family was pinned underneath the vehicle on the lake bottom, and another was submerged underwater in the back of the car. Both were extricated by first responders.
Following the arraignment on Monday, Island defense attorney Robb Moriarty said Harnen’s mother — who was unresponsive when first responders arrived at the scene of the December crash and was airlifted to Brigham and Women’s Hospital — “is doing well.”
The family also thanked first responders on Monday.
“Ms. Harnen is thankful for the heroic actions of the Oak Bluffs Police Department and the Oak Bluffs EMS that saved her mother’s life,” said Moriarty after Monday’s arraignment. “We look forward to resolving this case appropriately.”
Harnen was released on personal recognizance on Monday, and is scheduled to appear in the Edgartown District Court for a pretrial hearing on May 19.
