DUBOIS – A DuBois woman will stand trial for homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence.
Jackie Lynn Beach, 37, is also facing charges of involuntary manslaughter, DUI, recklessly endangering another person and summaries. Prior to a preliminary hearing Friday during centralized court, District Attorney William A. Shaw Jr. said that aggravated assault and simple assault charges were being withdrawn.
The first witness was Officer Lance Thompson of DuBois City police, who testified that he responded to a motor vehicle accident June 24 around 9:49 p.m. on West DuBois Avenue. When he arrived, he discovered a vehicle had struck a pedestrian.
Both fire and emergency personnel were already on the scene, and he could see a man lying on the side of the road. He spoke with the driver, identified as Beach, who told him she never saw the male.
She explained to him that she was trying to get back to work when she struck an object, but she wasn’t sure what it was. She went back, she said, and that was when she saw the individual. She called 911.
Thompson testified that he asked her if she had been drinking or if she was on any medications. She admitted she had some prescribed medication but her script for adderal had expired.
She took her daughter’s medication in its place, she told him. As Thompson had her perform field sobriety tests, she had poor balance and motor coordination. Again he asked about medication she had taken and she admitted she took Subutex, he testified.
At this point, Thompson said he called for a Drug Recognition Expert or DRE. He transported her to the DuBois City police station. After she was evaluated by Trooper David Kostok, she agreed to a blood test. A lab report, Thompson said, showed she had both amphetamine and lamictal in her system.
During cross examination by Beach’s attorney, Blair Hindman, Thompson described in more detail how Beach appeared that night. He explained that she was talking nervously, but she did not fumble when she gave him her license and registration
She also passed a breath test for alcohol.
Kostock testified regarding his evaluation of Beach at the police station. He stated it was a 12-step process. He concluded that she was under the influence of drugs or a combination of drugs that would render her incapable of safely operating a motor vehicle. He explained the DRE tests are different from the standardized field sobriety tests.
Hindman asked for the specifics of his findings. Kostock said during the walk and turn, she stopped when she lost her balance and had to lean on a wall to keep from falling. She also had her arms raised the entire time. She swayed during the one-leg stand and put her foot down twice, he said. He described her speech as quick at times but not slurred.
The last person to testify was Tpr. Robert Manno, who is a collision analysis expert for the state police who performed an investigation of the scene. He determined that she was going between 41 and 48 miles per hour in a 35-miles-per-hour zone. There were no adverse road conditions that night, he noted. He said the victim was within the lane of travel she was using and was impacted on the roadway.
Hindman asked if the windshield had been broken. Manno replied yes and said this indicated that the victim traveled up onto the hood of the vehicle.
Before the hearing began, the defense stipulated that the cause of death for the victim was blunt force trauma.
In his closing arguments, Hindman stated that the testimony did not include a test on the level of tolerance Beach has for these drugs. He stated there was “a lot of evidence that she was not under the influence.”
Shaw responded that the commonwealth relies on the tests to make their case.
District Judge Patrick Ford ruled to dismiss one count recklessly endangering another person, stating that if he includes that charge in this case, he would have to include it in all DUI cases. He sent the other charges on to the court of common pleas for further disposition. He set her bail at $10,000 unsecured.
