Gaunt family finds flaws in trial logic

Skid marks from the vehicle that struck Larry and Sierra Gaunt--click to view more photos of the area

This week a Lee's Summit Tribune article summarizes the difficulty the Gaunt family has with the logic that found the driver the killed bicyclists Larry and Sierra Gaunt not guilty.
The Gaunts were bicycling on the Longview Lake loop, one of the most popular bicycle routes in the Kansas City metro area. The road is a four lane divided road with shoulders. However the shoulder in that section of the road is so broken up and filled with potholes, dirt, gravel, and glass the very few bicyclists--and none with skinny-tired road bikes like the Gaunts--typically ride in the shoulder.

The driver claimed in court that the Gaunts were bicycling in the shoulder when he first saw them. As he approached, they suddenly swerved left, into the lane. Surprised, he swerved right into the shoulder and then left.

On the face of it, this is a reasonable story. But both the physical evidence (police incident report, PDF) and 3 witnesses at the trial indicate that the Gaunts were bicycling in a straight line in the lane near the white line. Approximately 12 seconds before striking the Gaunts, the driver saw the Gaunts, and then gradually drifted right, ending up partially on the shoulder. He then struck the Gaunts, hit the brakes, and swerved right.

The Tribune article summarizes the situation from the Gaunt family's point of view:

Johnson testified that Larry and Sierra swerved in front of him after riding along the shoulder. Johnson said he jerked the wheel right to pass on the shoulder, but jerked the wheel back left, smashing headlong into Larry and hitting Sierra with the side of the truck.

The Gaunt family is convinced Johnson fabricated this story.

A Grandview Police officer testified that the tire marks show a gradual drift to the right and concluded, after measuring the skid marks, that Johnson was speeding and wasn't paying attention to the road.

Barbara Gaunt, Sierra's grandmother, said the defense attorney during the trial misquoted witness statements, primarily one witness who said he saw the cyclists on the shoulder.

In fact, that witness testified he saw the cyclists in the street near the shoulder.

"The bottom line is it's not against the law for them to move onto the road," Barbara said. "He still hit them from behind."

Brad said he rode more than 30,000 miles with his father, Larry, over the past 13 years on MS 150 rides and other long-distance rides. He said the tires on their road bikes are too narrow to ride on the shoulders of roads because rocks and potholes cause flats and crashes on such bicycles.

"Never once did we ride on the shoulder," Brad said.

Brad supported state legislation this year that would have stiffened penalties for drivers who injure or kill pedestrians, including cyclists. He testified in March before the Missouri House Judiciary Committee on the issue.

Rep. Mike Sutherland, of Warrenton, sponsored the bill, which failed to make it to the floor for a vote. Sutherland said he intends to reintroduce the bill next session.

"We came pretty close last year and it was more procedural problems than anything," he said. "I think it's important because there are people who need to recognize that we need to share the road with all forms of transportation."

MoBikeFed will again be supporting Rep. Sutherland's efforts to improve Missouri's law. This issue is one of the highest priorities in MoBikeFed's current Legislative Platform.

• Previous articles about the Gaunt case
  
• 2008 proposed legislation dealing with this issue, issue paper, case studies (PDF)
  
• Grandview Police Incident Report
  
• Prosecutor's complaint and Probable Cause statement