$25 fine for killing rider...............

[PeteSC]

Posted on Fri, Jun. 03, 2005
 
 
 


Driver found not guilty

By Erin L. Nissley

enissley@centredaily.com


BELLEFONTE -- Jurors found a Bellefonte woman not guilty of homicide by vehicle Thursday after a full day of testimony regarding a 2003 wreck that killed a Mill Hall man.

Amber Thomas, 21, was accused of turning left onto Hublersburg Ridge Road from Jacksonville Road, causing Steven Berry, 50, to plow his Harley Davidson motorcycle into the front passenger side of Thomas' Pontiac Sunfire. Berry was taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center and later flown to Hershey Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

As the jury forewoman read the not guilty verdict, about a dozen of Thomas' friends and family struggled to contain their joy. In the back of the courtroom, Steven Berry's widow began to cry.

"She got away with killing my husband," Sandra Berry said through tears.

Thomas' lawyer, Stacy Parks Miller, said she thought jurors made the right decision.

"This case never should have been brought in the first place," Miller said.

In order to convict someone of homicide by vehicle, jurors must think the defendant acted recklessly by consciously disregarding a substantial risk. Prosecutors also must prove that the defendant's reckless actions caused the victim's death. The charge carries the possibility of up to seven years in prison.

"I'm disappointed," Assistant District Attorney Lance Marshall said of the verdict. "Steven Berry is dead, and he shouldn't be. He's dead because Amber Thomas turned in front of him."

But, Miller argued throughout the trial, Thomas' mistake should not be considered a crime. In her closing statement, Miller asked jurors to consider their own experiences on the road while deliberating.

"Think of the times in your life that you made a turn in front of someone and then looked back and thought 'That was close,' " Miller said.

She added later, "Think of the number of times someone did that to you."

Before making their decision, the eight men and four women sitting on the jury listened to a full day of testimony in the case. Marshall first called Sandra Berry to the stand, who testified that her husband was a careful driver who would often take his grandchildren out for a spin.

Two eyewitnesses to the accident testified for the prosecution, with Bobbie Jo Spangler saying she also saw Berry's motorcycle coming down Jacksonville Road before Thomas attempted the turn.

"It seemed to me that he was taking forever," the Howard woman said.

But most of the day's testimony centered on a battle of experts. Marshall called Cpl. David Toohey, a state police accident reconstructionist, to talk about the report he produced after investigating the accident.

Toohey pointed to a diagram he made showing that Thomas had "rushed" the turn from Jacksonville Road onto Hublersburg Ridge Road to back up the prosecution's allegations that Thomas' actions were reckless. His calculations, which included speed, turning radius and a single mark left by one of Thomas' tires after the impact, indicated that had Thomas completed the turn, she would have ended up in the opposing lane of traffic.

"She made the turn a little before the intersection," Toohey said. "She's actually making her curve early."

But Steven Rickard, a former state trooper and teacher who is considered an expert in accident reconstruction, testified that Toohey made several mistakes in his calculations.

Rickard, testifying for the defense, said he went to the scene and watched as several cars made the turn from Jacksonville Road onto Hublersburg Ridge Road. All of them made the turn a little short of the intersection, he said.

That may be because of a peculiarity in the intersection design, Rickard said.

"You'll note, as I did, that the double yellow lines on Hublersburg Ridge Road do not match up with the double yellow lines on Jacksonville Road," he told the jury, showing them photos he took of the intersection.

Miller reminded jurors in her closing argument that they could not find Thomas guilty unless they thought Thomas consciously disregarded a substantial risk that could cause death or personal injury.

"It doesn't become homicide unless she chose it. Where's the evidence that she did?" Miller asked the jurors. "Only Toohey's statement that 'Ha! Look how she rushed the turn.'"

Marshall said Toohey was not paid for his opinion. Rickard was paid $3,000 to produce his report, and $175 an hour to testify about it.

"Cpl. Toohey was at the accident scene," Marshall said during his closing statement. "His opinions are backed up by eyewitness testimony. Rickard's are vastly different."

Judge Thomas King Kistler found Thomas guilty of a summary traffic offense -- turning left in front of traffic -- after dismissing the jury. She will pay a $25 fine and court costs.

"It's been a long two years," Thomas' grandmother, Donna Baney, said after the trial.

Thomas' aunt, Donna Brungard, added, "We're all really happy she can get on with her life."