Gilroy
– Anthony Scott McDowell pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning to a
vehicular manslaughter charge stemming from an Aug. 1 crash that
killed Gilroy teenager Erin Kinkel, who was riding in the bed of
his truck.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – Anthony Scott McDowell pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning to a vehicular manslaughter charge stemming from an Aug. 1 crash that killed Gilroy teenager Erin Kinkel, who was riding in the bed of his truck.
McDowell, conservatively dressed in a black suit and tie with his hair closely cropped, stood at his attorney’s side but did not address the San Martin courtroom in his first appearance since his Aug. 25 arrest.
It was also the first appearance in the case by Ingo Brauer, McDowell’s attorney, and Assistant District Attorney Amir Alem, who took over the case this week.
Members of Erin Kinkel’s family – including her father and mother, Scott and Miki – watched the five-minute plea appearance by the young man who had been Kinkel’s friend. They sat on the left-hand side of the courtroom, four rows in front of where McDowell, of Morgan Hill, sat and waited for Judge Susan Bernardini to call his case. At times, they appeared to fight back tears.
Outside the courtroom after Brauer submitted his client’s not guilty plea, he offered a brief statement but did not discuss his plans for the case.
“We feel very sorry for the loss of Erin Kinkel,” Brauer said.
The next step in McDowell’s case is a pre-trial conference between Brauer, Alem, and Judge Bernardini, on Thursday, Dec. 9.
Alem said there could be one or two more pre-trial dates, if needed. If the case goes to trial, the earliest it could start would be sometime in January, he said.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office does not plea bargain vehicular manslaughter cases, Alem said.
“These are difficult cases on all sides, I think,” he said.
Kinkel’s parents chose not to comment Tuesday.
“I don’t think I can,” said Miki, with Scott adding that the morning’s proceedings were “not about” them.
The Kinkels will continue to be involved in the case, said Alem, who met with them yesterday for the first time since taking over the case Monday.
“They lost their daughter, granddaughter, friend, sister, so they’re going to be involved in this case as far as, they’ll have questions, want to talk about it,” he said. “It’s obvious what they feel: They feel a tremendous sense of loss, and that’s a given. What they want from this, as far as their sense of justice, I don’t know yet.”
If convicted of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence, McDowell could face one year in county jail, as well as various fines, probation terms and other conditions the court could impose.
McDowell surrendered to the Sheriff’s Department in San Martin on Aug. 25 – a day after deputies issued a warrant for his arrest – and posted $5,000 bail.
Just after midnight on Aug. 1, McDowell was driving westbound on Redwood Retreat Road west of Gilroy, near Mt. Madonna Road. He had one passenger in the cab of his 1985 Ford F-250, wearing a seat belt, while 15-year-old Kinkel and another Gilroy High School student rode in the bed. The group was on the winding mountain road at the early morning hour because they had just returned a rented movie and wanted to take a drive, according to the California Highway Patrol’s accident report.
Kinkel and her friend asked McDowell if they could ride in the bed of the truck – where there are no seat belts – because they wanted to watch the stars, the report said. The two girls were lying in the bed with their heads toward the tailgate.
When trying to negotiate a left-hand curve, the right rear wheel of McDowell’s truck went off the edge of the paved road and onto the uneven dirt-and-grass shoulder. After passing the apex of the curve, all four wheels of the truck were on the shoulder. It continued toward a dirt embankment, where the left front corner of the truck struck a tree. According to the CHP report, the truck was facing north, or roughly perpendicular to the paved road, when it struck the tree.
On impact, Kinkel and the other female passenger were thrown from the bed of the truck. The first girl landed on the shoulder west of the truck, sustaining a dislocated shoulder and various minor injuries. Kinkel was thrown farther west of the truck, onto the paved road, sustaining severe head injuries. She was pronounced dead while en route to Saint Louise Regional Hospital.
McDowell was traveling between 40 and 45 mph, according to the CHP. When officers arrived at the crash site, McDowell told them he “might have been going a little fast through the corner,” according to their report. His two other passengers said the same, although they said he was not driving recklessly. McDowell also was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time, the CHP said.
There are no curve warnings or speed limit signs at the curve, the report said. Before the curve, however, there are “numerous signs alerting drivers of narrow roadways, sharp corners and narrow bridges ahead.”
The road was dry and the night was clear on Aug. 1, the report said, but there are no street lights in the area and very little ambient lighting because there are few houses in the area.
