Blackbox and Crash Evidence Lead to Homicide Charges for One Driver, and Perjury Charges for Another
Written by Brendan M. Ahern
The victim was driving west on Maple Avenue at the intersection of Ellison Avenue on Tuesday, police said, when a stolen car going north on Ellison crashed into the driver’s side of the victim’s car. (May 4, 2010) Credit: Joseph C. Sperber
In May 2010, I was dispatched to the scene of a horrific multicar crash in Westbury, New York. At that time, I was a homicide prosecutor assigned to the prestigious Vehicular Crime Bureau of the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office. Those of us assigned to the bureau received sophisticated training in accident investigation and reconstruction for serious motor vehicle crashes. Training included analyzing and interpreting “Blackbox” crash data, as well as roadway and vehicle crash and damage patterns to understand key information about how and why a motor vehicle collision occurred – and who caused the crash.
The training was applicable to investigating serious crashes involving pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists, motor vehicles, and large commercial vehicles, such as eighteen wheelers, cement trucks, and school busses. Additionally, I was trained by experts to understand and communicate effectively about these forensic disciplines when on trial, particularly when examining opposing expert witnesses
Newsday Article About the Crash: https://www.newsday.com/long-island/crime/da-driver-in-fatal-hit-run-had-19-suspensions-1.1897126
The Victim, a Deputy County Attorney, works inside a law library in Mineola on April 5, 2001. Credit: Newsday File / Karen Wiles Stabile
I arrived at the scene and learned that the victim, a beloved 37-year veteran Nassau Deputy County Attorney, was on his way back from court when he was killed. He was driving westbound through an intersection with a green light when he was struck on the driver’s side door by a vehicle driving northbound through the intersection at a high rate of speed. The other driver was fleeing the police in a stolen car, was impaired from smoking crack-cocaine, and ran the red light at full speed. He never tried to slow down. The force of the crash caused both vehicles to redirect together and crash into a third vehicle, which was waiting at the red light.
Newsday Article honoring the Victim and his service to Nassau County: https://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/lawyers-in-county-attorney-s-office-remember-carney-1.1897415
Scale drawings for demonstrative purposes only; not actual data from this case
Many vehicles have an Event Data Recorder (EDR) or Crash Data Recorder (CDR) referred to as a “Blackbox”. If software is available for the particular make and model of the vehicle, Blackbox data can be obtained by a trained accident investigator. The data that is captured varies by the year, make, and model of a vehicle, but often contains information such as speed, braking, and steering in the seconds and milliseconds before a triggering event such as a crash or rollover.
In this case, the Blackbox data, together with the crash scene evidence, was critical to understanding how the crash occurred and who was at fault. Here, the roadway had gauge marks in the near center of the intersection. Gauge marks occur when two vehicles come into contact at a high rate of speed and the metal components on the bottom of the vehicles scrape and actually gauge the roadway. Gauge marks are often a reliable indicator of the area of first impact between two vehicles that meet, particularly in a perpendicular or T-bone crash, as was the case here.
The evidence here demonstrated that the offending vehicle never hit the brakes or slowed down before impacting the Victim’s car. The two vehicles slammed into a third vehicle, forcing it backwards away from the intersection. The Blackbox of the third vehicle and scene data told us that that the red van was stationary for several seconds prior to the impact as it waited at the red light.
Effectively understanding and presenting the Blackbox data and scene evidence was critical to establishing the elevated homicide charges for the fleeing drug-impaired driver. Additionally, Blackbox date from the third vehicle discredited a witness’s statement that defied the laws of physics and led to charges for the witness. As a former instructor wisely pointed out to me, a person can break many different laws, but in a crash, you can never break the laws of physics.
CBS News Story about the Sentencing: https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/12/11/ny-driver-high-on-drugs-gets-16-years-in-prison/