<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Melissa Grant, 43, of St. Albans, Vt. denied charges she gave her 16-year-old son vodka and malt liquor the night Colchester police said he drove drunk and crashed a car. The fiery wreck May 25 on Bay Road in Colchester killed the woman investigators said was the boy's passenger, Tasha Maring, 25, of Colchester.Police said Grant's son, James Companion, didn't have a driver's license or even a learner's permit when he crashed into a utility pole. In court May 29, Companion denied driving drunk with death resulting, and refusing to consent to a breath test at the crash scene. Vt. Superior Court Judge Timothy Tomasi set bail for Companion at $25,000, but court records showed as of Tuesday, he was still in custody at the Woodside Juvenile Facility in Essex.As for Grant, police paperwork filed with the court quoted witnesses who said Companion was showing off blueberry vodka his mom bought him for Memorial Day Weekend. Witnesses also told detectives folks tried stopping Companion and Maring from driving to a convenience store after the 16-year-old bragged he could \"out-drink anybody.\" \"I think the state is trying to sensationalize this case,\" Grant's defense attorney, Leroy Yoder, told Judge Brian Grearson. \"She is adamant she is not guilty of this crime.\"The allegations highlight what Vermont's Health Department called a \"big problem\" in the state: underage drinking. The 2011 Vt. Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that 1/3 of teens reported drinking alcohol within the month they participated in the study. The study also showed 1/5 of survey respondents said they binge drank in the month before the questions.\"Parents are the most important influence in their children's lives,\" said Deputy Vt. Health Commissioner Barbara Cimaglio. \"Students want to hear information from their parents. They want to hear there are rules they have to follow, even though they may push against them.\"Cimaglio pointed parents to the website www.ParentUpVT.org for advice on talking to kids about drinking, and other information on illegal alcohol use.In Melissa Grant's case, she pled not guilty to a felony charge of furnishing alcohol to a minor with death resulting. Conviction could mean a maximum five-year prison sentence."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.mynbc5.com/article/vt-mom-denies-giving-son-booze-before-deadly-crash-1/3303685>