After two days of testimony and more than an hour of deliberation, the jury returned with a verdict in a case stemming from a fatal crash in Waldoboro on Nov. 22, 2014.
The jury found Jeffrey R. Moran, 29, of Waldoboro guilty of operating under the influence but found the state had not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant had caused the death of Jessie Hayden of Waldoboro.
Moran will be sentenced in November.
Moran was driving a 1999 GMC Yukon SUV on Feyler’s Corner Road in Waldoboro around 8:30 p.m., Nov. 22, 2014, when he struck and killed his friend, Hayden, who was riding a bicycle near the centerline of the road.
Hayden lived nearby, and Moran was on his way to pick him up at the time of the crash. Hayden was pronounced dead at the scene by Waldoboro Emergency Medical Services.
The trial started the morning of Thursday, Oct. 27 and concluded with the jury delivering its verdict the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 28.
According to previous articles in The Lincoln County News, a Lincoln County grand jury indicted Moran on a single count of class B criminal operating under the influence on March 11, 2015. A class B crime carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau represented the state. Waldoboro attorney Philip Cohen represented Moran. Justice Daniel Billings presided.
The final witness called by the state was Sgt. Darren Foster of the Maine State Police Crash Reconstruction Unit.
Foster said he had 20 years experience as a state trooper and, as a specialist in crash reconstruction, responds to the scene of serious crashes to gather evidence and try to determine the cause or causes of a crash using forensic mapping and other techniques.
Foster described Feylers Corner Road as a paved secondary road with a 3-degree grade, lacking a centerline or a fog line and with a width of 18 feet.
Though there was no posted speed on the portion of Feylers Corner Road where the fatal collision occurred, Foster said the statewide speed limit in such rural settings is 45 mph.
Foster drew a diagram on a chalkboard in the courtroom and said evidence, including scuff marks from the SUV and the bicycle, indicated that the bicycle was struck 8.2 feet from the northbound edge of the roadway.
Moran’s truck was traveling south, in the opposite direction from the bicycle, at the time of the crash.
“Based on the dimensions of the road, that would be just to the left of where the centerline would be?” Rushlau asked. Foster said it would be.
Foster said he saw no signs of braking in the area of the collision. He used a formula to calculate Moran’s speed, producing a range of possible speeds for the SUV at the time of the crash, the average of which was 43 mph.
Foster said that as part of his reconstruction work, he determined speed was not a factor in the collision.
Upon cross-examination from Cohen, Foster said he found no evidence of erratic operation on the part of Moran and the primary cause of the crash was a bicycle operating near the center of the road.
The case’s final witness, and the only witness presented by the defense, was Moran.
Moran described driving the truck in its proper lane when he came upon Hayden riding his bicycle in the middle of the road.
Moran described the ensuing collision as occurring quickly and unexpectedly.
“There was no time to brake, no time to swerve. I just saw something right in front of me,” Moran said.
During cross-examination of the defendant, Rushlau pointed out an inconsistency in Moran’s testimony indicating the defendant had stated at the scene to law enforcement he had only had one beer while later admitting to having consumed two beers before 6 p.m. on the day of the crash.
“It was a hastily answered question. I was not trying to be deceitful,” Moran said.
A blood test conducted at the scene about 40 minutes after the crash revealed a blood-alcohol level of 0.144.
On Thursday, Oct. 27, the trial started with opening statements from the prosecution and the defense.
“This event, in many respects, will appear to you to be a horrible tragedy, but tragedies can also be crimes,” Rushlau said.
Rushlau gave jurors a brief overview of the evening of the fatal crash.
“No one will say (Moran) was falling down drunk. That is not the law in Maine,” Rushlau said.
He said shortly after the crash, Francis Daly and Barbara Hunt, of Waldoboro, were traveling in their own vehicle near the scene when they noticed a stopped vehicle in the road with one headlight on.
According to Rushlau, Daly encountered Moran, who told him he had struck someone, before both went over to provide assistance to Hayden.
Rushlau said Moran called 911 and a 13-year-old boy in Moran’s vehicle at the time of the crash was taken to Daly and Hunt’s vehicle to keep warm.
Waldoboro Police Officer Thomas Bartunek was the first member of law enforcement to arrive on scene. According to Rushlau, Bartunek observed signs of alcohol use on Moran, and Moran told Bartunek he had had one beer.
Rushlau said Bartunek conducted a field sobriety test and received assistance in drawing the defendant’s blood from Emergency Medical Technician Derek Booker of Waldoboro Emergency Medical Services.
Booker told Bartunek he noticed a lethargic nature to Moran’s movements consistent with patterns the EMT had observed in previous OUI incidents.
Moran was taken back to Bartunek’s police cruiser and transported to the police station, where he took an Intoxilyzer test following a recommendation to Bartunek from the department’s police chief.
Bartunek and Waldoboro Police Chief Bill Labombarde said Moran fell asleep more than once during the process, according to Rushlau.
The defense’s opening statement also acknowledged the tragic nature of the case.
“This was a tragedy, and sometimes tragedies occur, and when they do, there is not always someone to blame and not always someone to convict,” Cohen said.
Cohen made several points to dispute the state’s description of his client as intoxicated.
He said that after the crash, Moran was in the ditch with his cellphone on speaker listening to a dispatcher’s instructions about how to perform CPR and following the steps.
“This is the intoxicated man they want to show you in this trial,” Cohen said.
Cohen said the crash occurred during a dark evening in November on a country road, with the bicycle traveling in the middle of the road.
“There is absolutely nothing Moran could have done to avoid that collision,” Cohen said.
Furthermore, Cohen said his client was cooperative throughout the entirety of the evening, understood all questions asked of him and did not slur his speech in his interactions with paramedics, police officers and bystanders.
Several witnesses were presented by the state during the trial’s first day, including members of Waldoboro EMS, the Waldoboro Police Department, Maine State Police, a couple returning from dinner in Topsham that happened upon the scene of the crash and the minor traveling in Moran’s vehicle at the time of the crash.
The first responders who testified on day one of the trial included Bartunek, Booker and Waldoboro EMS Deputy Director Mike Poli. The witnesses indicated the call from Lincoln County Communications was not initially for a collision involving a motor vehicle but for a bicyclist in a ditch with no pulse.
According to previous articles in The Lincoln County News citing police, Moran originally reported that he had found a bike in the roadway and then saw a man in the ditch but later said he had struck Hayden.
Hayden was not wearing reflective gear or a helmet at the time of the crash.
Moran was arrested and later released on $10,000 bail.