FARMINGTON — A Jay woman and a Dixfield man each pleaded not guilty Friday to manslaughter charges involving separate accidents that killed two Jay residents earlier this year.

Barbara Benoit, 50, of Jay, was indicted in November on charges of manslaughter and aggravated operating under the influence of alcohol in an accident that killed her husband, Peter Benoit, 56, on July 12 on Route 133 in Jay.

Barbara Benoit pleaded not guilty Friday to both charges in Franklin County Superior Court.

Police say she was driving a 2008 Subaru Outback from the couple’s Farmington restaurant to their home, lost control of the car and hit a guardrail. She drove the vehicle home, about a half-mile away, and called an ambulance, police have said previously. Her husband, a passenger in the front seat, was pronounced dead at their home. He died from blunt force trauma to his head, police previously said.

Justice Michaela Murphy ordered Benoit’s bail to be a personal recognizance bond. Her case will be added to the Feb. 1, 2010, trial list at the Franklin County Superior Court in Farmington.

A manslaughter conviction carries up to 30 years in prison, and aggravated OUI is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

In a separate fatal accident, Richard Greco, 59, of Dixfield, pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and two counts of operating under the influence that caused serious bodily injury.

According to police, Greco was the driver of a truck that collided head-on with a sport utility vehicle on March 27 on Route 2, near the Route 156 intersection in Wilton. Avis E. Pettengill, 73, of Jay was killed in the accident.

Pettengill was a front-seat passenger in an SUV driven by Shawn Hiscock, 29 at the time, of Jay. Hiscock and his wife, Heather Hiscock, 30 at the time, received serious injuries, which required them to be taken by medical helicopter to separate hospitals. Two young children in the Hiscock’s vehicle were also injured in the crash.

Greco’s charge was based on prescribed medication, not being under the influence of alcohol, his attorney Woody Hanstein told the court during the arraignment.

Hanstein asked for 45 days to file motions in the case instead of the standard 21 days granted. He said he needed time to review information on the case, including his client’s medical records. He asked that the case not be set for the February trial list and instead be on the June list.

The state prosecutor and the judge agreed.

Greco’s bail was set on a personal recognizance bond.

If convicted on the charges, he faces up to 30 years and five years in jail, respectively.

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