Trooper: Janklow was speeding
Defense says congressman had a diabetic reaction
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Congressman Janklow could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of manslaughter.
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CNN's Bob Franken reports on South Dakota Rep. Bill Janklow's manslaughter trial.
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FLANDREAU, South Dakota (AP) -- Rep. Bill Janklow was traveling 71 mph in a 55 mph zone when he ran a stop sign and drove into the path of a motorcyclist, a state trooper testified Wednesday at the congressman's manslaughter trial.
Highway Patrol Sgt. Gene Barthel, an accident reconstructionist, used a large map to show jurors the location of roads, stop signs, Janklow's Cadillac, the motorcycle and the body of its rider, Randy Scott.
He said he based his estimate of Janklow's speed on a scientific formula that takes into account the vehicles' weights, paths and positions.
Janklow, 64, a former South Dakota governor and attorney general, is charged with second-degree manslaughter, speeding, running a stop sign and reckless driving in the August 16 collision that killed Scott, 55, of Hardwick, Minnesota.
Janklow has denied he was speeding.
Barthel said Scott was traveling at 59 mph and that neither driver took any evasive action. The east-west road Scott was on did not have stop signs.
The motorcycle hit the back of Janklow's car and Scott's body slammed into the car's trunk before landing in a field, the officer testified. Janklow's car spun around several times before stopping, he said.
The trial threatens to derail the career of a colossal figure in South Dakota politics. Janklow, a Republican, is a former state attorney general who served 16 years as governor during two stints before being elected to the state's only House seat last year.
Defense lawyer Ed Evans acknowledges that Janklow was speeding but said he did not see the stop sign because he had a diabetic reaction that caused him to become disoriented.
On Tuesday, a friend who had been riding another motorcycle ahead of Scott wept on the witness stand. As prosecutor Bill Ellingson showed him a gruesome accident scene photo, Terry Johnson described finding Scott's mangled body lying in a soybean field.
"I kneeled down to see if he had a pulse and he didn't," Johnson said.
The jury also saw a videotape taken by the Highway Patrol just hours after the accident in which Janklow was told Scott's name and birth date. Janklow said something about Scott not even being 60 years old, then asked about his family, paused, sighed and said: "Jesus."
The videotape was taken when Trooper Jeff Lanning drove Janklow to a hospital for a blood-alcohol test. During the ride, Janklow sounded coherent most of the time and was able to recall things, though he did not remember details of the accident. Toward the end of the tape he appeared to be slurring his words.
Janklow told the trooper several times he swerved and sped through the intersection to avoid hitting another vehicle.
"It was a white car," he said. "I thought that's who hit me."
But on the way back to the accident site, Janklow seemed to question whether he had seen the vehicle -- "Maybe I'm dreaming."
Janklow denied exceeding the speed limit.
"I wasn't speeding," Janklow said on the tape. "I wasn't going fast."
If convicted of manslaughter, the maximum punishment is 10 years in prison. It would also prompt the House ethics committee to investigate.
The committee's rules say representatives who plead guilty or are convicted of a crime that carries two or more years in prison should refrain from voting or taking part in committee meetings in the chamber until his or her record is cleared or until re-elected.
Copyright 2003 The
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
