Man pleads not guilty to leaving injured wife | Crime

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (AP) - A Pittsfield man has pleaded not guilty to leaving his wife to die on the side of a city street after she left their moving car during an argument.

James Benlien was released on $2,500 bail after pleading not guilty at his arraignment Monday to charges of leaving the scene of an accident involving death and drunken driving.

Prosecutors say Benlien and his wife, Christine, were arguing about his drug use in their car at about 1 a.m. Sunday when she stepped out of the vehicle, fell and hit her head. She was pronounced dead at a hospital. Their 21-year-old daughter also got out of the car.

The Berkshire Eagle reports that police say he then drove less than a mile to their home.

His attorney called Christine Benlien's death an accident.

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