Date: 11/10/2008
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ A North Carolina teenager who studied teen highway deaths as a senior high school project is dead after a crash.
Eighteen-year-old Shannon Nicole Adkins graduated last spring after turning in a report about the risks facing young drivers on the mainly rural roads of Johnston County.
The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Monday that Adkins was the 27th Johnston County teen to die in a wreck since the start of 2006 and the second in just over a week.
The highway patrol said Adkins was driving a pickup truck when another pickup crossed into her lane Saturday night and struck her head-on.
The other driver was a 29-year-old woman who was hospitalized in fair condition and charged with driving while impaired.
___
Information from: The News & Observer, http://www.newsobserver.com
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
NY police: Teen driver on drugs runs down joggers
Date: 11/7/2008
By FRANK ELTMAN
Associated Press Writer
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (AP) _ A teenager on drugs and driving a sport utility vehicle slammed into two runners out for an evening jog, killing one of them — a beloved schoolteacher — and seriously injuring her friend, police said Friday.
Shea Rosen, a 19-year-old from the exclusive village of Brookville on Long Island, was being held in lieu of $1 million bond after pleading not guilty to driving under the influence.
Rosen’s attorney, former federal prosecutor Joseph Conway, declined to comment on the high bond amount but said his client’s family was unlikely to post it Friday.
Rosen, who works as a busboy and waiter at a Huntington restaurant, had no prior criminal record, his lawyer and police said.
Amanda Malloy, a 29-year-old who competed in triathlons and taught fourth grade at John F. Kennedy Intermediate School in Deer Park, was pronounced dead at a hospital after being run down about 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
Her running companion, Vincent Saunders, 32, of Huntington, was hospitalized and not expected to survive, Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Avemaria Thompson said at Rosen’s arraignment.
The prosecutor said police smelled marijuana on Rosen’s breath after the accident on a busy stretch of a Huntington highway.
More than 12 hours after the accident, Rosen’s 2000 Dodge Durango remained at the accident scene, and a lone woman’s jogging sneaker lay on the pavement nearby.
Three unidentified pills were found in Rosen’s sock, Thompson said. She said Rosen told police he didn’t see the joggers in the road.
Rosen, whose Facebook page features a photo of him flipping his middle finger to the camera, was initially charged with driving under the influence of drugs, but the prosecutor said upgraded charges were likely.
Conway said his office was still trying to ascertain what happened. “Our hearts, of course, go out to the victims’ families,” he said.
Malloy’s sister-in-law described her as a physical fitness enthusiast who often competed in triathlons and was an expert in the martial arts.
“Her life was exercising,” said Christine MacQuarrie, who also taught at Kennedy. “It is ironic that she died doing what she loved.”
Saunders and Malloy were friends who attended the same karate school and shared the same interests in exercise, MacQuarrie said.
Deer Park School Superintendent Elizabeth Marino said in a statement that grief counselors were at the school for staff and students.
“As an expert in the martial arts, she took pride in sharing her knowledge with students through well-received assemblies,” Marino said. “Amanda was loved and admired by her colleagues and students alike and highly respected by administration.”
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
By FRANK ELTMAN
Associated Press Writer
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (AP) _ A teenager on drugs and driving a sport utility vehicle slammed into two runners out for an evening jog, killing one of them — a beloved schoolteacher — and seriously injuring her friend, police said Friday.
Shea Rosen, a 19-year-old from the exclusive village of Brookville on Long Island, was being held in lieu of $1 million bond after pleading not guilty to driving under the influence.
Rosen’s attorney, former federal prosecutor Joseph Conway, declined to comment on the high bond amount but said his client’s family was unlikely to post it Friday.
Rosen, who works as a busboy and waiter at a Huntington restaurant, had no prior criminal record, his lawyer and police said.
Amanda Malloy, a 29-year-old who competed in triathlons and taught fourth grade at John F. Kennedy Intermediate School in Deer Park, was pronounced dead at a hospital after being run down about 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
Her running companion, Vincent Saunders, 32, of Huntington, was hospitalized and not expected to survive, Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Avemaria Thompson said at Rosen’s arraignment.
The prosecutor said police smelled marijuana on Rosen’s breath after the accident on a busy stretch of a Huntington highway.
More than 12 hours after the accident, Rosen’s 2000 Dodge Durango remained at the accident scene, and a lone woman’s jogging sneaker lay on the pavement nearby.
Three unidentified pills were found in Rosen’s sock, Thompson said. She said Rosen told police he didn’t see the joggers in the road.
Rosen, whose Facebook page features a photo of him flipping his middle finger to the camera, was initially charged with driving under the influence of drugs, but the prosecutor said upgraded charges were likely.
Conway said his office was still trying to ascertain what happened. “Our hearts, of course, go out to the victims’ families,” he said.
Malloy’s sister-in-law described her as a physical fitness enthusiast who often competed in triathlons and was an expert in the martial arts.
“Her life was exercising,” said Christine MacQuarrie, who also taught at Kennedy. “It is ironic that she died doing what she loved.”
Saunders and Malloy were friends who attended the same karate school and shared the same interests in exercise, MacQuarrie said.
Deer Park School Superintendent Elizabeth Marino said in a statement that grief counselors were at the school for staff and students.
“As an expert in the martial arts, she took pride in sharing her knowledge with students through well-received assemblies,” Marino said. “Amanda was loved and admired by her colleagues and students alike and highly respected by administration.”
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Santa Fe Opera settles suit over wrong-way crash
Date: 10/23/2008 7:14 PM
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) _ The Santa Fe Opera and the estate of an employee have reached a settlement with relatives of a family killed in a drunken, wrong-way interstate crash triggered by the worker, who was returning from a business trip.
The attorney for the opera, Michael W. Brennan, characterized the settlements reached this year as “substantial” but said the exact amount is confidential.
Opera employee Dana Papst drove the wrong way on Interstate 25 south of Santa Fe in November 2006 and crashed into a minivan. He died the next morning.
The crash also killed the van’s driver, Paul Gonzales of Las Vegas, N.M.; his wife, Renee Collins-Gonzales and three of their children. Arissa Garcia, then 15, survived.
Tests showed Papst’s blood-alcohol content was four times the legal limit for driving.
Papst had been seen drinking on a US Airways flight to Albuquerque that day, and other passengers said he appeared to be drunk.
Police have said that after the flight landed, Papst bought a six-pack of beer in Bernalillo and drove north, eventually turning off the northbound lanes and driving the wrong way for five miles before striking the van.
The opera’s insurance company chose to settle the case rather than go to trial.
Court records show that Ever Ready Oil Co., Chevron Redi-Mart in Bernalillo and US Airways remain defendants in the lawsuit.
The state Department of Public Safety cited the Chevron Redi-Mart after the crash. The store, which later closed, was owned by Ever Ready Oil.
___
Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.sfnewmexican.com
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Austrian rightist was speeding at twice limit
Date: 10/12/2008 10:45 AM
By WILLIAM J. KOLE
Associated Press Writer
VIENNA, Austria (AP) _ Far-right politician Joerg Haider was speeding at more than twice the posted limit before the car crash that killed him, investigators said Sunday as his grief-stricken party appointed a successor.
Flowers, notes and other tributes piled up at the scene of the crash that killed the former leader of the Freedom Party, whose anti-immigration stance and provocative praise of the Nazi era once led the European Union to slap Austria with diplomatic sanctions.
Police reconstructing Saturday’s accident in the southern province of Carinthia, where Haider was governor, said the speedometer in the wreckage of Haider’s high-powered Volkswagen Phaeton limousine was stuck at 142 kph (88 mph).
The speed limit at the crash site is just 70 kph (43 mph), and it drops to 50 kph (31 mph) just 100 meters (yards) further down the road in the direction Haider was heading.
Prosecutor Gottfried Kranz said the high speed appeared to be the main factor in the crash that killed the 58-year-old politician.
“Any speculation about other causes of the accident is weak,” Kranz said, adding that the car was technically sound and police had no reason to suspect foul play.
Police said the car veered off the road after Haider overtook another vehicle, then struck a concrete pillar and rolled over. Haider, who was alone in the car, suffered multiple injuries and died while being rushed to a hospital.
Haider left the Freedom Party a few years ago to found the rightist Alliance for the Future of Austria, which captured about 11 percent of the vote in last month’s national elections.
Visibly shaken party leaders gathered in Vienna on Sunday to name the Alliance’s secretary-general, Stefan Petzner, as Haider’s successor.
Haider had expressed a wish that the party carry on should anything ever happen to him, “and we owe it to him to fulfill that obligation,” another Haider deputy, Herbert Scheibner, told reporters.
It remained unclear what impact Haider’s death would have on talks to form a new coalition government.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
By WILLIAM J. KOLE
Associated Press Writer
VIENNA, Austria (AP) _ Far-right politician Joerg Haider was speeding at more than twice the posted limit before the car crash that killed him, investigators said Sunday as his grief-stricken party appointed a successor.
Flowers, notes and other tributes piled up at the scene of the crash that killed the former leader of the Freedom Party, whose anti-immigration stance and provocative praise of the Nazi era once led the European Union to slap Austria with diplomatic sanctions.
Police reconstructing Saturday’s accident in the southern province of Carinthia, where Haider was governor, said the speedometer in the wreckage of Haider’s high-powered Volkswagen Phaeton limousine was stuck at 142 kph (88 mph).
The speed limit at the crash site is just 70 kph (43 mph), and it drops to 50 kph (31 mph) just 100 meters (yards) further down the road in the direction Haider was heading.
Prosecutor Gottfried Kranz said the high speed appeared to be the main factor in the crash that killed the 58-year-old politician.
“Any speculation about other causes of the accident is weak,” Kranz said, adding that the car was technically sound and police had no reason to suspect foul play.
Police said the car veered off the road after Haider overtook another vehicle, then struck a concrete pillar and rolled over. Haider, who was alone in the car, suffered multiple injuries and died while being rushed to a hospital.
Haider left the Freedom Party a few years ago to found the rightist Alliance for the Future of Austria, which captured about 11 percent of the vote in last month’s national elections.
Visibly shaken party leaders gathered in Vienna on Sunday to name the Alliance’s secretary-general, Stefan Petzner, as Haider’s successor.
Haider had expressed a wish that the party carry on should anything ever happen to him, “and we owe it to him to fulfill that obligation,” another Haider deputy, Herbert Scheibner, told reporters.
It remained unclear what impact Haider’s death would have on talks to form a new coalition government.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Police: Fla. driver kills cyclist, hits crowd
Date: 10/9/2008 1:58 PM
Police: Fla. driver kills cyclist, hits crowd
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) _ Florida authorities say an erratic driver who refused to stop for police hit and killed a cyclist, then plowed into a crowded parking lot, injuring nine.
St. Petersburg police say they attempted to pull over an unlicensed driver shortly before 11 p.m. Wednesday when she took off speeding.
Police say the driver hit a man on a bike, killing him instantly.
Her 2008 Dodge pickup landed in a crowded parking lot outside a liquor store. Five of those injured were treated and released and four remain hospitalized.
The driver was arrested at a hospital where she was being treated for her injuries. Police say 18-year-old Denise Battles is charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash and vehicular homicide. It was not immediately clear if she had an attorney.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Police: Fla. driver kills cyclist, hits crowd
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) _ Florida authorities say an erratic driver who refused to stop for police hit and killed a cyclist, then plowed into a crowded parking lot, injuring nine.
St. Petersburg police say they attempted to pull over an unlicensed driver shortly before 11 p.m. Wednesday when she took off speeding.
Police say the driver hit a man on a bike, killing him instantly.
Her 2008 Dodge pickup landed in a crowded parking lot outside a liquor store. Five of those injured were treated and released and four remain hospitalized.
The driver was arrested at a hospital where she was being treated for her injuries. Police say 18-year-old Denise Battles is charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash and vehicular homicide. It was not immediately clear if she had an attorney.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Cubs reliever Carlos Marmol suffers minor injuries in car accident
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Chicago Cubs reliever Carlos Marmol suffered minor injuries in a car accident in the Dominican Republic early Tuesday.
A truck hit a car carrying Marmol, a cousin and a friend in his hometown of Bonao near 2 a.m. The All-Star right-hander had just arrived in the Caribbean nation after the Cubs were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the playoffs.
Marmol said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that the air bag deployed and he suffered only a cut and an “inflammation” of his forehead.
“Out of precaution they did different studies on my body, and I don’t have any kind of serious injury,” he wrote.
A Cubs representative in the Dominican Republic, Jose Serra, said Marmol received seven stitches in his forehead but is otherwise healthy.
Marmol pitched in 82 games this season, going 2-4 with a 2.68 ERA.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
A truck hit a car carrying Marmol, a cousin and a friend in his hometown of Bonao near 2 a.m. The All-Star right-hander had just arrived in the Caribbean nation after the Cubs were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the playoffs.
Marmol said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that the air bag deployed and he suffered only a cut and an “inflammation” of his forehead.
“Out of precaution they did different studies on my body, and I don’t have any kind of serious injury,” he wrote.
A Cubs representative in the Dominican Republic, Jose Serra, said Marmol received seven stitches in his forehead but is otherwise healthy.
Marmol pitched in 82 games this season, going 2-4 with a 2.68 ERA.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
New York Mets reliever Ambiorix Burgos turns himself in to authorities
Date: 10/7/2008 9:47 PM
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — New York Mets pitcher Ambiorix Burgos turned himself in on Tuesday, a week after police say he was involved in a hit-and-run accident that killed two women.
Authorities were interviewing him, prosecutor Raul Quiroz told The Associated Press.
The news comes after the mother of one of the two victims accused Burgos of intentionally running her daughter over because she refused to go out with him.
Eudosia Ruane, mother of 29-year-old Angely Fana, told the AP she filed a report with police alleging homicide.
An arrest warrant had been issued for the 24-year-old reliever, who disappeared after the Sept. 30 accident that killed Fana and Josefina Minaya, 38. Burgos is accused of abandoning the victims and fleeing, charges that can carry six months to two years in prison.
Witnesses say Burgos was the driver, even though his cousin claimed to be behind the wheel, according to police.
Burgos also faces an unrelated charge of illegal weapon possession and had recently been released after posting a $3,000 bond.
He also has an Oct. 23 court hearing in the U.S. stemming from assault and harassment charges filed after he allegedly threw his girlfriend to the ground.
Burgos has not appeared in Major League Baseball since last year and spent the past season on the disabled list following elbow ligament replacement surgery. He pitched in the minors last month while on a rehabilitation assignment.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — New York Mets pitcher Ambiorix Burgos turned himself in on Tuesday, a week after police say he was involved in a hit-and-run accident that killed two women.
Authorities were interviewing him, prosecutor Raul Quiroz told The Associated Press.
The news comes after the mother of one of the two victims accused Burgos of intentionally running her daughter over because she refused to go out with him.
Eudosia Ruane, mother of 29-year-old Angely Fana, told the AP she filed a report with police alleging homicide.
An arrest warrant had been issued for the 24-year-old reliever, who disappeared after the Sept. 30 accident that killed Fana and Josefina Minaya, 38. Burgos is accused of abandoning the victims and fleeing, charges that can carry six months to two years in prison.
Witnesses say Burgos was the driver, even though his cousin claimed to be behind the wheel, according to police.
Burgos also faces an unrelated charge of illegal weapon possession and had recently been released after posting a $3,000 bond.
He also has an Oct. 23 court hearing in the U.S. stemming from assault and harassment charges filed after he allegedly threw his girlfriend to the ground.
Burgos has not appeared in Major League Baseball since last year and spent the past season on the disabled list following elbow ligament replacement surgery. He pitched in the minors last month while on a rehabilitation assignment.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Police: 10-year-old driver flips van in Tenn.
Date: 10/7/2008 12:44 PM
BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ A 10-year-old was driving up to 90 mph when he crashed a van carrying a man who told police he had drank at least 15 beers and a woman who was trying to swallow as many pills as she could when deputies arrived at the scene, Tennessee authorities said Tuesday.
The young driver lost control and the vehicle rolled, coming to rest on its top in northeastern Tennessee, Sullivan County authorities said. The two adults and three children in the van were taken to Bristol Memorial Hospital with minor injuries following Sunday’s crash.
Police charged 43-year-old Randy Lewis of Bristol with seven violations, including third offense DUI and felony reckless endangerment. People can be charged with DUI in Tennessee if they own the vehicle, even if they are not driving. A booking photo released by the Sheriff’s Office showed Lewis wearing a T-shirt that said, “Buy this dad a beer.”
Paula Elaine Evans, who is 38 and also of Bristol, faces charges that include aggravated child abuse or neglect.
Lewis and Evans were being held in the Sullivan County Jail after a judge increased their bonds on Tuesday to $50,000 each at an arraignment hearing.
County jailers did not know if Lewis and Evans had retained attorneys and no one was immediately available to answer questions at the Sullivan County Public Defender’s office.
The sheriff’s office said Lewis acknowledged drinking liquor besides the beers.
The children — two 10-year-olds and a 6-year-old — were related to the adults, said authorities who declined to further detail the relationships.
The children were released to the Tennessee Children’s Services Department after being treated at the hospital.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ A 10-year-old was driving up to 90 mph when he crashed a van carrying a man who told police he had drank at least 15 beers and a woman who was trying to swallow as many pills as she could when deputies arrived at the scene, Tennessee authorities said Tuesday.
The young driver lost control and the vehicle rolled, coming to rest on its top in northeastern Tennessee, Sullivan County authorities said. The two adults and three children in the van were taken to Bristol Memorial Hospital with minor injuries following Sunday’s crash.
Police charged 43-year-old Randy Lewis of Bristol with seven violations, including third offense DUI and felony reckless endangerment. People can be charged with DUI in Tennessee if they own the vehicle, even if they are not driving. A booking photo released by the Sheriff’s Office showed Lewis wearing a T-shirt that said, “Buy this dad a beer.”
Paula Elaine Evans, who is 38 and also of Bristol, faces charges that include aggravated child abuse or neglect.
Lewis and Evans were being held in the Sullivan County Jail after a judge increased their bonds on Tuesday to $50,000 each at an arraignment hearing.
County jailers did not know if Lewis and Evans had retained attorneys and no one was immediately available to answer questions at the Sullivan County Public Defender’s office.
The sheriff’s office said Lewis acknowledged drinking liquor besides the beers.
The children — two 10-year-olds and a 6-year-old — were related to the adults, said authorities who declined to further detail the relationships.
The children were released to the Tennessee Children’s Services Department after being treated at the hospital.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Jury acquits SC trooper charged with striking man
Date: 10/3/2008 6:05 PM
By JIM DAVENPORT
Associated Press Writer
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) _ A federal jury on Friday acquitted a white South Carolina trooper who bragged about striking a fleeing black suspect with his cruiser in a collision captured on video tape.
Lance Cpl. Steven Garren insisted during his four-day trial that the crash was an accident and he did not have enough time to react when the sprinting Marvin Grant cut in front of his patrol car on a dark, rural road last year.
“No one wanted Marvin Grant to get hit by a car,” lawyer Wally Fayssoux said after the verdict, adding that Garren’s testimony helped the jury make its decision. “They got a chance to see and meet Steven Garren.”
The jury saw the video of the June 2007 collision dozens of times. It shows Grant running from Garren’s patrol car, then suddenly cutting in front of it. Grant was hit and rolled off the hood.
In the video, Garren brags to a deputy who also had been pursuing Grant: “Hey, I nailed the (expletive) out of him.” Seconds later, Garren says: “Yeah, I hit him. I was trying to hit him.”
Garren left the courthouse smiling, his arm over his wife’s shoulder. He refused to take questions from reporters. Later in the day, officials said the now-suspended officer would be reinstated.
Black leaders in South Carolina reacted angrily to the decision from the jury of 10 whites and two blacks.
“This just goes to show us that justice isn’t blind and that Lady Justice’s scales are very unbalanced. To describe it as a miscarriage of justice is an understatement,” said state NAACP president Lonnie Randolph.
During closing arguments earlier in the day, Garren’s wife sobbed and the officer dabbed his eyes with a white handkerchief. Garren was charged with using unreasonable force that deprived Grant of his civil rights. The officer could have faced up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if he had been convicted.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin McDonald said he couldn’t envision handling the case differently and said it shouldn’t be considered an indictment of officers in the state.
“I don’t think this case is representative of the Highway Patrol or law enforcement agencies,” he said.
Grant, who escaped after being hit, testified he spent three weeks on crutches but never saw a doctor. He is in jail for failing to pay child support, but never faced charges in the high-speed chase that started the incident.
Garren has been suspended without pay since his federal indictment in June. Public Safety Department Director Mark Keel said Friday that Garren could not be disciplined again for the collision, and that the officer could be back on the force as early as Monday. He also said the ordeal sent an important message to law officers.
“I think that the fact that he was indicted by a federal grand jury, that he went to trial and was tried by a federal court, I think sends a message that’s loud and clear that this type of behavior is not going to be tolerated,” Keel said.
Garren’s trial was the first of two federal civil rights cases to come from a spate of police videos that showed questionable tactics by South Carolina troopers. The videos and how supervisors treated the officers on them brought the ousters of the heads of the Highway Patrol and Department of Public Safety earlier this year.
Fayssoux said he hadn’t spoken with Garren about the suspension being lifted.
“The next step is getting him back in uniform,” Fayssoux said. For now, “all he wants to do is get back to his family and get back to his patrol.”
___
Associated Press Writer Katrina A. Goggins in Columbia contributed to this report.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Summary
By JIM DAVENPORT
Associated Press Writer
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) _ A federal jury on Friday acquitted a white South Carolina trooper who bragged about striking a fleeing black suspect with his cruiser in a collision captured on video tape.
Lance Cpl. Steven Garren insisted during his four-day trial that the crash was an accident and he did not have enough time to react when the sprinting Marvin Grant cut in front of his patrol car on a dark, rural road last year.
“No one wanted Marvin Grant to get hit by a car,” lawyer Wally Fayssoux said after the verdict, adding that Garren’s testimony helped the jury make its decision. “They got a chance to see and meet Steven Garren.”
The jury saw the video of the June 2007 collision dozens of times. It shows Grant running from Garren’s patrol car, then suddenly cutting in front of it. Grant was hit and rolled off the hood.
In the video, Garren brags to a deputy who also had been pursuing Grant: “Hey, I nailed the (expletive) out of him.” Seconds later, Garren says: “Yeah, I hit him. I was trying to hit him.”
Garren left the courthouse smiling, his arm over his wife’s shoulder. He refused to take questions from reporters. Later in the day, officials said the now-suspended officer would be reinstated.
Black leaders in South Carolina reacted angrily to the decision from the jury of 10 whites and two blacks.
“This just goes to show us that justice isn’t blind and that Lady Justice’s scales are very unbalanced. To describe it as a miscarriage of justice is an understatement,” said state NAACP president Lonnie Randolph.
During closing arguments earlier in the day, Garren’s wife sobbed and the officer dabbed his eyes with a white handkerchief. Garren was charged with using unreasonable force that deprived Grant of his civil rights. The officer could have faced up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if he had been convicted.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin McDonald said he couldn’t envision handling the case differently and said it shouldn’t be considered an indictment of officers in the state.
“I don’t think this case is representative of the Highway Patrol or law enforcement agencies,” he said.
Grant, who escaped after being hit, testified he spent three weeks on crutches but never saw a doctor. He is in jail for failing to pay child support, but never faced charges in the high-speed chase that started the incident.
Garren has been suspended without pay since his federal indictment in June. Public Safety Department Director Mark Keel said Friday that Garren could not be disciplined again for the collision, and that the officer could be back on the force as early as Monday. He also said the ordeal sent an important message to law officers.
“I think that the fact that he was indicted by a federal grand jury, that he went to trial and was tried by a federal court, I think sends a message that’s loud and clear that this type of behavior is not going to be tolerated,” Keel said.
Garren’s trial was the first of two federal civil rights cases to come from a spate of police videos that showed questionable tactics by South Carolina troopers. The videos and how supervisors treated the officers on them brought the ousters of the heads of the Highway Patrol and Department of Public Safety earlier this year.
Fayssoux said he hadn’t spoken with Garren about the suspension being lifted.
“The next step is getting him back in uniform,” Fayssoux said. For now, “all he wants to do is get back to his family and get back to his patrol.”
___
Associated Press Writer Katrina A. Goggins in Columbia contributed to this report.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Summary
Jury weighs whether SC trooper meant to hit man
Date: 10/3/2008 1:34 PM
By JIM DAVENPORT
Associated Press Writer
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) _ A jury is deliberating whether a South Carolina trooper intentionally struck a fleeing suspect with his patrol car.
Prosecutors say Lance Cpl. Steven Garren deliberately hit suspect Marvin Grant with his cruiser. They showed jurors a video of the collision and the trooper bragging about the incident.
Defense attorneys say the trooper could not avoid hitting Grant when he cut in front of the patrol car during the June 2007 chase. Defense lawyer Wally Fayssoux (FAY’-Soo) says prosecutors are trying to show that Garren went from being a good officer to a monster in a split second.
Garren is charged with depriving a suspect of his civil rights by using unreasonable force. Garren is white; Grant is black.
If convicted, Garren could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Date: 10/1/2008 7:44 PM
SC trooper says he couldn’t avoid suspect with car
By JIM DAVENPORT
Associated Press Writer
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) _ A South Carolina state trooper accused of deliberately running down a suspect with his cruiser said Wednesday the crash was “an unavoidable accident” and that he regretted bragging about it afterward.
“It’s a collision that I’m sorry took place,” Lance Cpl. Steven Garren said on the second day of his federal trial.
Garren is charged with using unreasonable force and depriving suspect Marvin Grant of his civil rights. Garren is white; Grant is black. A conviction could bring Garren up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The trial hinges on a key video of the collision that shows Grant sprinting from the patrol car, then being hit and flipping over the hood. On the recording, Garren says to a deputy: “Yeah, I hit him. I was trying to hit him.”
Garren said his statements embarrassed himself, his family and his department.
“The statement itself is not true. But I did say the statement,” he said. “It’s just a dumb, stupid statement.”
The officer also said Grant ran in front of the cruiser “probably in the blink of an eye.”
“It was an unavoidable accident,” he said.
But a prosecutor read another statement the trooper gave after the collision: “Hey, I nailed the (expletive) out of him,” the prosecutor said, reading from a transcript of the video recording.
“I’m sorry I said that, but it doesn’t show my intent,” said Garren, whose voice occasionally cracked with emotion.
Earlier in the day, federal prosecutors wrapped up their case with a frame-by-frame analysis of the video.
A witness for the prosecution, crash reconstruction expert Geoffrey Germane, said Garren steered his patrol car twice into Grant’s path. When Grant suddenly cut to the right in front of the cruiser, Garren steered the car toward the suspect a second time and hit him, Germane said.
The defense responded with their own experts. One said Garren bragging about hitting the suspect was inappropriate but not surprising for police officers dealing with stress or trauma and another testified that Garren had about a second to react. “He did exactly what I’d expect any driver to do,” said Marc Green, an expert in human reaction times.
Garren also challenged testimony Tuesday from a Greenwood County sheriff’s deputy who said Garren had told him he intended to hit Grant. Garren said he never spoke with the deputy that night.
Garren’s trial is the first of two federal civil rights cases to come from a spate of police videos that showed questionable tactics by South Carolina troopers. The videos and how supervisors treated the officers on them brought the ousters of the heads of the Highway Patrol and Department of Public Safety earlier this year.
Garren was initially suspended for three days. He has been suspended since his federal indictment in June.
The videos have drawn scrutiny from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the state’s Legislative Black Caucus, which helped bring the videos to the public’s attention.
Date: 10/1/2008 11:35 AM
Prosecutors’ expert: SC trooper steered into man
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) _ A crash reconstruction expert says a South Carolina state trooper accused of intentionally ramming a fleeing suspect with his cruiser steered into the path of the man.
The testimony Wednesday from prosecution witness Geoffrey Germane came on the second day of Lance Cpl. Steven Garren’s federal trial.
Garren is charged with using unreasonable force and depriving a suspect of his civil rights. A conviction could bring 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Much of the case hinges on a video showing the suspect flipping over the hood of Garren’s cruiser. Garren’s attorney has argued that the trooper tried to avoid hitting the suspect.
However, jurors heard the trooper bragging that he meant to hit the man in the key video.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
By JIM DAVENPORT
Associated Press Writer
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) _ A jury is deliberating whether a South Carolina trooper intentionally struck a fleeing suspect with his patrol car.
Prosecutors say Lance Cpl. Steven Garren deliberately hit suspect Marvin Grant with his cruiser. They showed jurors a video of the collision and the trooper bragging about the incident.
Defense attorneys say the trooper could not avoid hitting Grant when he cut in front of the patrol car during the June 2007 chase. Defense lawyer Wally Fayssoux (FAY’-Soo) says prosecutors are trying to show that Garren went from being a good officer to a monster in a split second.
Garren is charged with depriving a suspect of his civil rights by using unreasonable force. Garren is white; Grant is black.
If convicted, Garren could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Date: 10/1/2008 7:44 PM
SC trooper says he couldn’t avoid suspect with car
By JIM DAVENPORT
Associated Press Writer
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) _ A South Carolina state trooper accused of deliberately running down a suspect with his cruiser said Wednesday the crash was “an unavoidable accident” and that he regretted bragging about it afterward.
“It’s a collision that I’m sorry took place,” Lance Cpl. Steven Garren said on the second day of his federal trial.
Garren is charged with using unreasonable force and depriving suspect Marvin Grant of his civil rights. Garren is white; Grant is black. A conviction could bring Garren up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The trial hinges on a key video of the collision that shows Grant sprinting from the patrol car, then being hit and flipping over the hood. On the recording, Garren says to a deputy: “Yeah, I hit him. I was trying to hit him.”
Garren said his statements embarrassed himself, his family and his department.
“The statement itself is not true. But I did say the statement,” he said. “It’s just a dumb, stupid statement.”
The officer also said Grant ran in front of the cruiser “probably in the blink of an eye.”
“It was an unavoidable accident,” he said.
But a prosecutor read another statement the trooper gave after the collision: “Hey, I nailed the (expletive) out of him,” the prosecutor said, reading from a transcript of the video recording.
“I’m sorry I said that, but it doesn’t show my intent,” said Garren, whose voice occasionally cracked with emotion.
Earlier in the day, federal prosecutors wrapped up their case with a frame-by-frame analysis of the video.
A witness for the prosecution, crash reconstruction expert Geoffrey Germane, said Garren steered his patrol car twice into Grant’s path. When Grant suddenly cut to the right in front of the cruiser, Garren steered the car toward the suspect a second time and hit him, Germane said.
The defense responded with their own experts. One said Garren bragging about hitting the suspect was inappropriate but not surprising for police officers dealing with stress or trauma and another testified that Garren had about a second to react. “He did exactly what I’d expect any driver to do,” said Marc Green, an expert in human reaction times.
Garren also challenged testimony Tuesday from a Greenwood County sheriff’s deputy who said Garren had told him he intended to hit Grant. Garren said he never spoke with the deputy that night.
Garren’s trial is the first of two federal civil rights cases to come from a spate of police videos that showed questionable tactics by South Carolina troopers. The videos and how supervisors treated the officers on them brought the ousters of the heads of the Highway Patrol and Department of Public Safety earlier this year.
Garren was initially suspended for three days. He has been suspended since his federal indictment in June.
The videos have drawn scrutiny from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the state’s Legislative Black Caucus, which helped bring the videos to the public’s attention.
Date: 10/1/2008 11:35 AM
Prosecutors’ expert: SC trooper steered into man
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) _ A crash reconstruction expert says a South Carolina state trooper accused of intentionally ramming a fleeing suspect with his cruiser steered into the path of the man.
The testimony Wednesday from prosecution witness Geoffrey Germane came on the second day of Lance Cpl. Steven Garren’s federal trial.
Garren is charged with using unreasonable force and depriving a suspect of his civil rights. A conviction could bring 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Much of the case hinges on a video showing the suspect flipping over the hood of Garren’s cruiser. Garren’s attorney has argued that the trooper tried to avoid hitting the suspect.
However, jurors heard the trooper bragging that he meant to hit the man in the key video.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.