HOLLISTER
– Jurors in the misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter trial of
Robert Orabuena were treated to a lesson in physics as expert
witnesses battled it out from the witness stand Thursday.
HOLLISTER – Jurors in the misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter trial of Robert Orabuena were treated to a lesson in physics as expert witnesses battled it out from the witness stand Thursday.
The fate of the 41-year-old Gilroy man now rests in the hands of 12 San Benito County residents as the trial was expected to go to the jury this morning.
The prosecution and the defense were scheduled to deliver their closing arguments and turn the case over to the jury for a final verdict.
“The defense has rested and is satisfied with the state of the case and is confident in a jury of this county to reach the right decision,” Orabuena’s defense attorney Arthur Cantu said.
Deputy District Attorney Denny Wei declined to comment on the end of testimony or any aspect of the case.
Steve Neumann of the California Highway Patrol’s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) testified as an expert witness for the prosecution, while Eric Deyerl, a highly-respected mechanical engineer who specializes in accident reconstruction, testified for the defense.
Relying on the same physical evidence, the two experts came up with different versions of the same event.
Using a computer generated slide presentation, Neumann testified that on July 4, Orabuena cut short his turn into a driveway at 6970 Fairview Road and drove into the path of a 2002 Harley-Davidson V-Rod ridden by Joseph Judnick, 48, of Salinas.
Neumann also testified that as Judnick tried to stop the V-Rod, it went down on its side and slid front-tire first into the front passenger wheel of Orabuena’s 1987 Dodge mini-van, swinging the rear wheel of the motorcycle so hard into the mini-van that it lifted the vehicle and spun it around nearly 90 degrees for about 12 feet.
“I’d say the van probably flew a good portion of that distance,” Neumann testified. “It was probably airborne for most of that.”
Deyerl agreed with much of Neumann’s testimony except that he came to the conclusion the front tire of the V-Rod struck the rear of the mini-van, with the upper passenger’s section of the high-performance Harley striking the middle and front end of the Dodge’s passenger side.
Deyerl testified that the V-Rod was traveling at a speed of 83 to 92 mph when Judnick first slammed on his brakes. He said one of the pieces of physical evidence that the Harley struck top first and not wheels first is the plate supporting the rider’s seat with so much force that it was locked into place preventing the rear wheel below it from moving.
“That kind of force is consistent with the top of the motorcycle striking first,” Deyerl said. “There is no other way that damage could have occurred. The CHP even made a point of it in their reports.”
Neumann disagreed, testifying that the motorcycle went much farther under the mini-van than Deyerl’s analysis indicates.
“I think it’s contrary to what the physical evidence indicates,” Neumann testified. “The right rear tire of the van ran over the top of the motorcycle.”
During cross examination, Cantu pointed out a flaw in Neumann’s analysis.
He asked Neumann if there was any physical evidence to show that the Dodge moved forward after it was hit by the V-Rod.
Neumann said there was no evidence to show that the mini-van moved forward after the crash.
“If the Dodge did not move forward, then how could it have run over the motorcycle,” Cantu said.
In addition vehicular manslaughter, Orabuena is charged with wreckless driving and one vehicle code infraction of driving without proof of insurance.
Attorneys for both sides were expected to deliver a closing argument to the jury at 9:30 a.m. and then Superior Court Judge Alan Hedegard will provide jury instructions to the 12-member panel and then send them off to deliberate.
It’s unknown how long deliberations for the case could last, attorneys said they hope jurors can reach a decision by Monday, but with the amount of detailed evidence to sort through they said there is no way to predict.
