Not Guilty verdict in the Gaunt double fatality case

The Kansas City Star is reporting today that the jury in the Gaunt double fatality case has returned a verdict of "not guilty".

William Johnson was charged with two counts of manslaughter. Prosecutors maintained that Johnson was driving 54 MPH in a 45 MPH zone and saw the bicyclists at least 12 seconds before hitting them. Rather than moving into the adjoining lane, which was empty, he drifted onto the shoulder.

Johnson claimed that the bicyclists swerved over in front of him, and although he saw bicyclists in the area frequently (he lives near the area the collision took place, and it is one of the most popular bicycle routes in the metro area), he didn't move over when he saw a bicyclist because that wasn't his driving style.

According to the KCStar article:

Johnson, 49, tried to remain stoic after the verdict. But he soon pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his eyes. As the Gaunts filed past, one of Johnson’s supporters began to cry.

Those emotions had been building since Aug. 6, when the elder Gaunt was helping Sierra prepare for an MS-150 bike ride, a long-distance ride that benefits victims of multiple sclerosis. It was her first. An avid cyclist, her grandfather had pedaled through about a dozen of the events.

The two were nearing Harry Truman Drive when Johnson’s blue 1985 Chevrolet pickup slammed into their bikes, throwing them to the pavement. Larry Gaunt died at the scene. Sierra died at a hospital.

The question was whether the collision constituted a crime. Prosecutors said yes, and called Johnson’s actions reckless.

They pointed to police calculations that determined that Johnson was going at least 54 mph in a 45 mph zone. They called witnesses who testified that the road was flat, straight and dry. They continually went back to evidence that showed the left lane next to Johnson was completely clear.

KSHB TV showed a report with the reaction of Sierra Gaunt's father and bicycle shop owner Chris Smedley, a friend of the Gaunts. The report summarizes a discussion with a juror, who indicated that from his point of view, "prosecutors made several detrimental mistakes":



Regardless of any mistakes that may have been made, the prosecutors took a rare and courageous stand in bringing such serious charges in the case. In most similar cases, no matter how egregious the circumstances, the driver is charged with nothing more serious than a simple traffic infraction.

Ken Cobb, a lawyer and avid bicyclist who is active in the Johnson County Bicycle Club, analyzes the outcome:

As the law now stands, a motorist is guilty of a crime only if he does something worse than being careless or negligent. Running a stop sign, crossing a center line, or blatantly running down two cyclists is not a crime by itself, unless there was some added element of recklessness involved. Common reckless elements are speeding or drinking. Talking on a cell phone may be another.

In the Gaunt case everything hung on whether Johnson was speeding. There were no other known reckless elements involved. The defense attorney was able to convince the jury there was reasonable doubt about Johnson's alleged speeding.

We don't know if any cyclists were on the jury. We also know that a certain percentage of people don't think that cyclists should be on streets in the first place, which may have been a factor in the jury room, too.

Many advocacy groups in various states are pushing for a change in law, that would make it a crime to hit any pedestrian or cyclist in a car, where the pedestrian or cyclist was obeying the law and was in clear view. Until that happens, there will be a lot of verdicts like this one.

Here the road was four lanes, was nearly deserted, and had a shoulder. Visibility was excellent. Johnson got a 12-second look at the cyclists, according to the testimony. Yet he neither slowed down nor changed lanes. That is considered only negligence. His insurance is responsible to pay damages, but he gets only a traffic ticket for careless driving.

MoBikeFed will continue to work with the Missouri legislature to develop appropriate tools to help police and prosecutors keep dangerous drivers off the road and require bad drivers to take training proven to help them become better, safer drivers.

The outcome of this case makes it clear that we still have important work to do.

More information:

• 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


• Missouri's involuntary manslaughter statute and the definitions of the mental states needed to prove 1st or 2nd degree manslaughter