Waterford teen voluntarily returns to prison while awaiting trial

A Waterford teenager awaiting trial in connection with a May 26, 2009 car crash in which she and four passengers were injured returned to prison voluntarily this summer so that she could "bank" some prison time while her case is pending.

Sarah Mader, 19, is charged with four counts of second-degree assault with a motor vehicle, four counts of first-degree reckless endangerment, possession of cocaine, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, failure to drive right and risk of injury to a minor.

At her July 20 court appearance, she rejected an offer from the state to plead guilty in exchange for a four-year prison sentence and five years probation. Her case was added to the trial list. If convicted at trial and sentenced to the maximum prison terms for the alleged offenses, she faces decades in prison.

Ten days later, defense attorney Thomas W. Teixeira asked the court to add Mader's case to the docket. Mader went to court and requested that a judge increase her bond and send her to prison while the case is pending. She agreed not to post the $500 bond, and was taken to the Janet S. York Correctional Institution. She has remained incarcerated since July 30.

Teixeira declined to comment Tuesday on what appears to be a strategic move for Mader to accrue credit for time served while awaiting the outcome of her case. In other cases, defendants who could post bond have voluntarily remained in prison while their cases were pending so they had already served some time when the case was resolved with a plea deal or tried before a jury.

Mader does not have a court date, but at some point there will be a status conference among her attorney, prosecutor Christa L. Baker and a judge.

According to Waterford police, Mader was driving a 1999 Ford Crown Victoria, drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana with friends both while the car was parked and while driving. She was driving near 62 Miner Lane when the car crashed off the right shoulder of the roadway. Four passengers were trapped and one was ejected. The heavily damaged car was wedged between two trees and resting atop a stone wall. An Amtrak surveillance camera captured the moments before and after the crash.

Police said Mader's blood-alcohol level after the crash was .121. The legal limit for drivers under 21 is .02.