Judge awaits more evidence before ruling on fatal crash
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Fresh flowers were laid at the memorial site in memory of Derek Phillips, Tara Schultz and David Rizzo Jr. Ryan Safka of Upper St. Clair is facing charges in front of Judge Jeffrey Manning in the triple fatal accident.
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An Allegheny County Common Pleas judge on Wednesday withheld the verdict in a homicide by vehicle case against an Upper St. Clair man, saying that he was giving more time to both sides to establish the scientific value -- or lack of it -- of the data recorder in the crashed car.
Ryan Safka, 21, is charged in the deaths of David Rizzo Jr., 20, Tara Schulz, 18, and Derek Phillips, 20, all of Upper St. Clair. The three were backseat passengers in Mr. Safka's 2007 Dodge Caliber that crashed on the Parkway West just before 2 a.m. on Feb. 21, 2010.
His nonjury trial before Judge Jeffrey A. Manning began Monday. The judge previously planned to announce his verdict Wednesday. But when he reconvened court, he announced that he'd changed his mind.
"There are some significant evidentiary issues," he said.
The judge noted that the prosecution's entire case revolves around the allegation that Mr. Safka was speeding.
Although the front-seat passenger in the car testified that Mr. Safka may have been traveling 70 to 80 mph, the only other evidence presented by the district attorney was information taken from the vehicle's event data recorder.
That showed that Mr. Safka's car was traveling 106 mph five seconds before the air bags deployed.
The defense argued during the trial that there was no testimony that showed that the recorder was functioning properly or that it is a reliable piece of scientific evidence.
Judge Manning raised that same question.
"I can find no Pennsylvania case law which permits this use" of the recorder in the case, he said. "There is no precedent for introducing this into evidence."
That does not necessarily make it inadmissible, the judge continued, adding that there are appellate decisions in at least three states where the recorders can be relied upon.
He gave each side until Feb. 21 to obtain expert testimony on the event data recorder and its reliability.
University of Pittsburgh law professor John Burkoff said the judge's move was unusual but also commendable.
"Where you have the time in a bench trial, it's better to wait and get it right, rather than get it quickly and have to reconsider later."
Mr. Safka's defense attorney, Daniel Hargrove, argued that the 106 mph speed on the event data recorder was achieved when his vehicle was airborne, and the wheels were free spinning.
But Assistant District Attorney Michael Berquist discounted that argument.
"It strains credulity," he said. "A vehicle will not remain airborne for five seconds.
Judge Manning agreed.
"That defies logic and human experience," the judge said. The vehicle would not have still been accelerating, he said, after it initially struck the jersey barrier.
"It would have ... decreased."
Mike Palese -- a spokesman for Chrysler, which makes the Dodge Caliber -- said his company has been using event data recorders since 2004, and they are now standard on every vehicle sold.
The recorders accurately record information pertinent in a crash, including speed, braking and even whether safety restraints are in use, he said.
"It becomes really important in piecing together what may have happened right before a crash happened, and why it happened," Mr. Palese said. "We have a high degree of faith in these systems."
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the event data recorders are not required equipment in all vehicles. They vary by manufacturer.
Still, as of 2005, 64 percent of all new cars had them, and that number has been on the rise, the agency said.
The family members of the victims were pleased by the judge's decision to delay the case, because some feared that had he reached a verdict Wednesday, it may have been not guilty.
"It's frustrating to have everything keep being pushed away," said David Rizzo Sr., whose son was killed. But, he continued, "I'm very glad he didn't rule today."
As for whether Mr. Safka was speeding, Mr. Rizzo said he believed so.
"The car had to achieve a certain height to clip off all those trees," he said. "It's obvious he had to have a certain speed."
Mr. Rizzo and Janet Phillips, the mother of Derek Phillips, expressed concern on how the case was prosecuted.
"I felt there were a lot of things that could have been done better," he said.
"I'm really disappointed," Ms. Phillips said. "I thought our witnesses weren't really prepared, and our DA."
Mike Manko, a spokesman for the district attorney's office, said his office welcomes the opportunity to prove the accuracy and reliability of the event data recorder, which, he said, local law enforcement uses regularly.
"Our office also understands and sympathizes with the frustrations that families of victims can feel during the justice process, but the important thing is to see that process through to its conclusion."
First Published February 9, 2012 12:00 am
