BY ALLEN HOWARD
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Tracie Alfieri

Final arguments were laced with rage Thursday in the case against a woman charged with causing the death of an unborn baby in a traffic accident.

Jurors will convene this morning to deliberate the fate of Tracie Alfieri, charged with aggravated vehicular homicide and aggravated vehicular assault. Mrs. Alfieri is the first local person charged under a law that makes it a crime to kill a fetus.

On Thursday:

• The defense accused the prosecution of playing to emotion and distorting facts.

• The prosecution said the defense was spreading dirt to hide the truth.

A crowded courtroom of relatives and friends on both sides listened to the fray between attorneys before the case was given to a jury of seven women and five men at noon.

Hamilton County assistant prosecutor Judy Mullen told the jury that on the morning of Nov. 27 last year, Mrs. Alfieri deliberately slammed on her brakes when she drove in front of Rene Andrews as they merged onto Interstate 71, causing the Madisonville woman to swerve and lose control of her car.

Mrs. Andrews, 29, was injured, and her unborn child killed when she slammed into a disabled truck.

Both were merging onto I-71 from the Red Bank Road ramp. Mrs. Alfieri, a 24-year-old mother of two, testified Wednesday that Mrs. Andrews had cut in front of her as they approached the freeway.

Prosecutors said Mrs. Alfieri acted recklessly when she pulled back in front of Mrs. Andrews and suddenly slammed on her brakes, which set off a chain reaction that led to the accident.

''She started it and she is responsible for the ending,'' Mrs. Mullen said.

Defense attorney Tim Schneider said the prosecution's case was so weak that they used emotion to hide the truth.

''We all have sympathy for Mrs. Andrews. She was injured and she lost a child, but emotions can render justice blind,'' Mr. Schneider said. ''My client admits she had to brake to avoid traffic in front of her, but evidence showed Mrs. Andrews was following her too close.''

Hamilton County assistant prosecutor Gerald Krumpelbeck told the jury that what Mrs. Alfieri did was a clear case of highway rage and that highway rage is unacceptable in Hamilton County. ''It is your responsibility to tell the world what happened,'' he told the jury.

The jury requested testimony of two witnesses be reread, which took up most of the afternoon. They deliberated for 30 minutes and then recessed for the day.

Deliberation resumes at 9:30 a.m. today.

In his instructions to the jury, Judge Patrick Dinkelacker of Hamilton County Common Pleas said motorists have a duty to maintain an assured clear distance in which to stop, as well as a duty to control their cars.

The defense had requested that information be included in the instructions because it argued that Mrs. Andrews was partly to blame because she was following too closely.

Previous stories

DRIVER DENIES CAUSING CRASH May 1, 1997
INJURED WOMAN RECALLS LITTLE April 30, 1997
ACCUSED'S DRIVING AT TRIAL'S CORE April 29, 1997
2 TRIALS, 2 CONTROVERSIES April 27, 1997
WOMAN PLEADS NOT GUILTY IN CRASH THAT CLAIMED FETUS Jan. 4, 1997
DRIVER INDICTED Jan. 3, 1997