Defense: Second video in East Hanover fatal wasn't watched

   MORRISTOWN - A state crash reconstruction expert acknowledged Tuesday that he was not aware there is a second videotape of the 2012 collision that killed East Hanover community leader Ralph Politi.

On the fourth day of the aggravated manslaughter trial against accused intoxicated driver Vanessa E. Brown, 35, Morris County Prosecutor's Office Agent Gary Gouck, a crash reconstruction expert, was on the witness stand for at least five hours answering questions posed by Assistant Prosecutor John McNamara Jr.

A half hour into his cross-examination of Gouck -- who will continue testifying Wednesday -- defense lawyer Edward Bilinkas asked Gouck whether he was aware of a second surveillance tape retrieved from the victim's business, All Jersey Garage Doors on Ridgedale Avenue in East Hanover.

Gouck said he was not aware of the tape, prompting Bilinkas to suggest that Gouck was remiss in not reviewing all possible evidence before drawing conclusions about the collision that occurred around 1:48 p.m. on May 5, 2012.

"As you sit here as the state's reconstruction expert, is it your testimony that you were not provided with a video from All Jersey Garage that shows the back of Mr. Politi's truck and my client hitting it?" Bilinkas asked.

"I never saw that video." Gouck replied. "I never knew there was a video depicting your client hitting the back because there was no damage to the back of the pickup."

Bilinkas asked: "Would you agree with me, before you come in and testify and render an opinion with regard to this accident, you should have seen another video that depicts the actual accident from a different angle?"

Gouck defended his conclusions, noting he had viewed a clear surveillance videotape of the crash from one angle.  The Morris County jury on Monday watched 90 seconds of this video, which shows Brown's Toyota Camry driving south on Ridgedale Avenue and drifting into the right lane and striking Politi's vehicle as the victim stood outside it.

On Monday, Gouck had said of the surveillance videotape he watched: "The video helped substantiate how I believe the crash occurred."

The 49-year-old victim had parked his Chevrolet pickup truck in a parking space parallel to Ridgedale Avenue, outside 30 Ridgedale Ave. Gouck has calculated that the pickup truck was parked 12 inches from the curb. When he was struck, Politi was standing between the open driver's side door and the rear door, which opened toward the road.

Bilinkas on Tuesday tried to play the second videotape but had a technical problem so is expected to play it Wednesday when the trial resumes before Superior Court Judge Salem Ahto. Bilinkas did not say what new information he expects the second tape to reveal.

Gouck spent hours on the stand, educating jurors on the physics of examining fatal crashes.  He had calculated that Brown's Camry struck Politi at about 47 mph, a notch above the 45 mph speed limit on that stretch of road. The force dragged the pickup truck forward about 66 inches and pushed it about 72 inches into the parking lot.  The victim was thrown several feet and died shortly afterwards of catastrophic injuries to his pelvis and legs.

Gouck testified that he used a crash data retrieval kit to examine the event data recorder in the Toyota Camry, a device akin to a "black box" in an airplane. The data recorder revealed that Brown never braked when she struck the curb and then, six milliseconds later, the pickup truck. Her airbag deployed and her car -- still without braking -- drove into several unoccupied vehicles in the parking lot, Gouck said.

Under questioning by McNamara, the assistant prosecutor, Gouck said several times that he could not say with specificity where the victim was standing -- in the parking lot or the road shoulder -- when he was hit.  The video and the crash analysis shows only that Politi was standing between the open doors of his pickup but not literally where his feet were.

However, the jury cannot consider that Politi in any way contributed to his death by his proximity to the road. Brown is charged with recklessly disregarding a probability that death could occur by her actions -- driving while intoxicated -- but Bilinkas is alleging that the investigation was purposely skewed toward Brown and that some evidence -- such as the second videotape of the crash -- was disregarded.

Jurors also will hear that Brown, two hours after the crash, had a blood alcohol content of .133 percent, or higher than the 0.08 percent level at which a motorist is deemed legally intoxicated in New Jersey.  The jury also will be told that Brown has a prior DWI conviction out of Tinton Falls in 2009.

   Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@GannettNJ.com.