this should make Law and Order
Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 8:59 am
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
By Daniel Malloy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Investigators first traced the cause of a fatal crash in Brookline to the brakes, then to the fluid cap, then to the mechanic who left the cap unscrewed.
Last week, the mechanic was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter, setting in motion what legal experts say is a remarkable case.
"I have not heard of anything like that," said Duquesne Law School professor Bruce Antkowiak, a former federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney.
"It's a law school test case."
Mark Fabian, 33, of the North Side, faces a preliminary hearing that prosecutors said will be scheduled for March 27 on charges that he caused the death of Colleen Visconti and injuries to three others.
The Sept. 3 crash happened when the brakes failed on a minivan transporting Ms. Visconti and two special-needs students home from the Pioneer Education Center in Brookline. The van crashed into a tree off of Dunster Street near Abstract Avenue.
Ms. Visconti, 53, of Bellevue, died Sept. 12 of complications from the abdominal injuries she suffered in the crash. Students Walter Chancellor and Tyler Blazier were treated for head and facial injuries at Children's Hospital.
According to a criminal complaint, driver Jennifer Logan, who fractured her leg in the wreck, told investigators that she noticed problems with the brakes on the Dodge Caravan earlier in the day. She took it to the Lawrenceville garage for A-1 Van Service, which owned the van.
Mr. Fabian was assigned to work on the van, and he told officers from the collision investigative unit that he did a thorough job. But officers presented evidence to the contrary.
According to the complaint, investigators found an obvious crack in the right rear brake and dust on both rear brakes, suggesting they had not been examined.
The most crucial piece, though, was the master cylinder filling cap, which was not reattached after being unscrewed. Investigators determined that the cap's absence allowed brake fluid to drain from the car, rendering the brakes lifeless.
Ms. Logan said that as she went down the Dunster Street hill, she pressed the pedal all the way down, but it had no effect. Investigators found a trail of brake fluid from the top of the hill to the crash site.
Mr. Fabian insisted that he never opened the hood and wasn't responsible for the misplaced yellow cap.
But investigator Michael McNamara noted in his report that when confronted with the physical evidence, Mr. Fabian became evasive and avoided eye contact.
Officer McNamara concluded that Mr. Fabian lied on a work order claiming he had inspected the vehicle and lied about the cylinder cap.
"Mark Fabian's failure to place this vehicle out of service is the cause of this crash," Officer McNamara wrote.
To convict Mr. Fabian, prosecutors must prove that his actions -- or inactions -- caused the wreck, and those actions were "reckless or grossly negligent."
Criminal defense attorney and former Allegheny County prosecutor Patrick Nightingale said that's a tough standard to meet.
"Is the commonwealth going to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this guy's mistake was so egregious that it merits criminal responsibility?" Mr. Nightingale said. "It's going to be very interesting and potentially very defensible."
Though the circumstances are much different, observers compared Mr. Fabian's case with two other Allegheny County manslaughter cases: a 1995 HOV lane crash in which the lane operator opened a switch for traffic in both directions, and a 2006 crash caused when a wood chipper came loose from a tree service worker's truck.
Neither case went to trial. William Snyder, the HOV operator, and Bradley Demitras, the truck driver, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
Stephie-Anna Ramaley, a former Allegheny County assistant district attorney who prosecuted the Demitras case, said the challenge in her case was showing that Mr. Demitras' failure to inspect his truck before taking it onto the highway constituted criminal negligence.
After hearing the facts of the Fabian case, Ms. Ramaley said the issue instead will be if prosecutors can prove that the defendant's failure to act was a direct cause of the fatal wreck.
"Your criminal negligence standard is met by him lying about it and covering it up," said Ms. Ramaley, who now practices construction law.
"If they can prove that."
By Daniel Malloy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Investigators first traced the cause of a fatal crash in Brookline to the brakes, then to the fluid cap, then to the mechanic who left the cap unscrewed.
Last week, the mechanic was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter, setting in motion what legal experts say is a remarkable case.
"I have not heard of anything like that," said Duquesne Law School professor Bruce Antkowiak, a former federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney.
"It's a law school test case."
Mark Fabian, 33, of the North Side, faces a preliminary hearing that prosecutors said will be scheduled for March 27 on charges that he caused the death of Colleen Visconti and injuries to three others.
The Sept. 3 crash happened when the brakes failed on a minivan transporting Ms. Visconti and two special-needs students home from the Pioneer Education Center in Brookline. The van crashed into a tree off of Dunster Street near Abstract Avenue.
Ms. Visconti, 53, of Bellevue, died Sept. 12 of complications from the abdominal injuries she suffered in the crash. Students Walter Chancellor and Tyler Blazier were treated for head and facial injuries at Children's Hospital.
According to a criminal complaint, driver Jennifer Logan, who fractured her leg in the wreck, told investigators that she noticed problems with the brakes on the Dodge Caravan earlier in the day. She took it to the Lawrenceville garage for A-1 Van Service, which owned the van.
Mr. Fabian was assigned to work on the van, and he told officers from the collision investigative unit that he did a thorough job. But officers presented evidence to the contrary.
According to the complaint, investigators found an obvious crack in the right rear brake and dust on both rear brakes, suggesting they had not been examined.
The most crucial piece, though, was the master cylinder filling cap, which was not reattached after being unscrewed. Investigators determined that the cap's absence allowed brake fluid to drain from the car, rendering the brakes lifeless.
Ms. Logan said that as she went down the Dunster Street hill, she pressed the pedal all the way down, but it had no effect. Investigators found a trail of brake fluid from the top of the hill to the crash site.
Mr. Fabian insisted that he never opened the hood and wasn't responsible for the misplaced yellow cap.
But investigator Michael McNamara noted in his report that when confronted with the physical evidence, Mr. Fabian became evasive and avoided eye contact.
Officer McNamara concluded that Mr. Fabian lied on a work order claiming he had inspected the vehicle and lied about the cylinder cap.
"Mark Fabian's failure to place this vehicle out of service is the cause of this crash," Officer McNamara wrote.
To convict Mr. Fabian, prosecutors must prove that his actions -- or inactions -- caused the wreck, and those actions were "reckless or grossly negligent."
Criminal defense attorney and former Allegheny County prosecutor Patrick Nightingale said that's a tough standard to meet.
"Is the commonwealth going to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this guy's mistake was so egregious that it merits criminal responsibility?" Mr. Nightingale said. "It's going to be very interesting and potentially very defensible."
Though the circumstances are much different, observers compared Mr. Fabian's case with two other Allegheny County manslaughter cases: a 1995 HOV lane crash in which the lane operator opened a switch for traffic in both directions, and a 2006 crash caused when a wood chipper came loose from a tree service worker's truck.
Neither case went to trial. William Snyder, the HOV operator, and Bradley Demitras, the truck driver, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
Stephie-Anna Ramaley, a former Allegheny County assistant district attorney who prosecuted the Demitras case, said the challenge in her case was showing that Mr. Demitras' failure to inspect his truck before taking it onto the highway constituted criminal negligence.
After hearing the facts of the Fabian case, Ms. Ramaley said the issue instead will be if prosecutors can prove that the defendant's failure to act was a direct cause of the fatal wreck.
"Your criminal negligence standard is met by him lying about it and covering it up," said Ms. Ramaley, who now practices construction law.
"If they can prove that."