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Reckless Homicide?
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ZBO is a Accredited Traffic Accident Reconstructionist, Traffic Accident Investigation Expert, Biomechanical Trauma Specialist, Expert Witness with world-class expertise in investigation and reconstruction of automobile, heavy vehicle, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian and train accidents, PC Crash, Cadzone, Vericom and Total station scene mapping, court graphics and testimony, construction and slip-and-fall accidents
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On a sunny spring day John Doe left a picnic he had attended in a southern Indiana state park and drove his full-size pickup west, intending to stop off at his parent's home for a brief visit before heading home.
As he made the left turn into his parent's driveway he heard the sound of metal scraping and felt the impact as a motorcycle slammed into the side of the bed of his pickup and rotated his truck clockwise into the driveway.
When John jumped out of his truck to determine what had happened he discovered the horrible site. The motorcycle was wedged beneath the pickup and its driver lay dead along side John's pickup.
The county prosecutor charged John with reckless homicide. The prosecutor based his case on the fact that the John's BAC registered .01 and that he turned left in front of the motorcycle. An accident reconstruction conducted by the state police provided some support for the prosecutor's case.
Council for John Doe engaged this consultant for the purpose of reconstructing the accident.
Because the physical evidence was well documented by the state police (skid marks, gouge marks, scratches and vehicle damage) it was a relatively simple matter to estimate the pre-collision speeds of both vehicles. Estimated speed for the motorcycle was 72 miles-per-hour. The posted limit for the roadway was 55 miles-per-hour.
The key to the case was the paring of a time/distance study of the vehicle approaches to the point of impact and the topography of both vehicles' approach.
Only subtle deviations in topography existed along the road section in question. There was a small hillcrest in front of the parent's driveway. A series of dips punctuated the motorcycle's approach.
Data from a laser builder's level was used to create a graphical cross section of the roadway, which depicted the topography of the vehicle approaches. The graphic was used to conduct a sightline analysis that revealed that because of the topography and John's position relative to the motorcycle at each point along his approach, John would not have seen the motorcycle at any point along his approach, including the decision-making time immediately prior to his execution of the left turn.
The accident sequence was recreated in a two-dimensional graphical environment using PC Crash, crash-test-validated accident reconstruction software that allows the simulation of collision sequences in accordance with long accepted laws of physics.
The two-dimensional graphical reconstruction was then converted to three dimensions and animated to show the accident sequence. It revealed, in real time, what both driver's would have seen that day as they approached the point of impact. It provided a tool, which could be used to show in clear graphical form how the speed of the motorcycle was excessive for the road section and that this speed, in combination with the inexperience of the motorcycle rider represented the proximate cause of the accident.
Based on the findings of this consultant, the prosecutor did not proceed with the reckless homicide charges. The pickup truck driver did receive some home detention because of his BAC level.
A tragic situation did not become even more so by the incarceration of a driver who could not have taken any action to prevent the death of the young motorcycle rider.
Read other articles by this KKAI Associate:
In Depth Investigation Prevents Unjust Prosecution
| Accredited Traffic Accident Reconstructionist, Traffic Accident Investigation Expert, Biomechanical Trauma Specialist, Expert Witness, investigation and reconstruction of automobile, heavy vehicle, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian and train accidents, PC Crash, Cadzone, Vericom and Total station scene mapping, court graphics and testimony, construction and slip-and-fall accidents | |
| Resume of BGW | collision investigation, accident analysis, expert consultant |
| Resume of XWI | accident reconstruction, traffic investigations, expert consultant |
| Resume of VUG | accident reconstruction, accident investigation expert consultant |
| Resume of IEY | forensic collision reconstruction, automobile accident investigator, expert consultant |
| Resume of YBN | accident reconstruction, structural investigation, water intrusion expert consultant |
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Kevin Kennedy & Associates, Inc.
Rapid Response Engineering® Solutions
3905 Vincennes Road, Suite 320
Indianapolis, Indiana 46268
(317) 536-7000 voice
(317) 536-7220 fax