Snowmobile case goes to the jury today
1:00 AM
Posted: Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Two engineering studies. Two different conclusions.
Jurors will be left to sort out the findings.
An engineer testified Monday that he had determined Daniel Bouc's pickup truck was traveling slower at the time of a fatal collision with two snowmobiles than the speed estimated by an engineer hired by the parents of two of the crash victims.
Jeffery Peterson, vice president of engineering at Skogen Engineering Group of Madison, Wis., said his calculations were more accurate because his computer simulations of the crash showed skid and impact distances consistent with measurements taken by investigators at the scene.
Plugging those distances into a complex formula, Peterson determined Bouc was driving 46-54 mph and could not have seen snowmobiles driven by Andrea Phillips, 13, and Kallie Phillips, 10, in time to avoid the Dec. 12, 2003, collision that killed the girls and their passengers, Lauren Herbold, 11, and Kylie Koch, 10, near the Phillips' farm near Pierson, Iowa.
"I would say, yes, it is unavoidable," Peterson said.
Andrea and Kallie's parents, Darwin and Jacklyn Phillips, have sued Bouc, who was 16 at the time, in Woodbury County District Court on behalf of their daughters' estates for negligence, claiming the accident was his fault. Also named in the suit is Bouc's father, Fred, who owned the pickup.
The Boucs, also of Pierson, deny that Daniel Bouc was negligent. They say the collision was the girls' fault because they were on the road. Criminal charges never were filed against Bouc.
Mark Wade, an engineer who performed tests at the crash site last summer for the Phillipses, testified last week that Bouc was traveling 64-72 mph. Bouc testified Friday he was driving 50-55 mph. Darwin and Jacklyn Phillips both have testified Bouc told them shortly after the crash that he was going 55 or 60 mph.
Peterson, who said he studied the crash site two months after the accident and reached his conclusions before the defense hired him, testified Bouc couldn't have been traveling 70 mph because the snowmobiles would have come to a stop farther from the point of impact. At 50 mph, the "throw distance" of the snowmobiles nearly matches the distances from impact measured by investigators the day of the accident.
Peterson was not asked why or for whom he had done his initial testing.
"It seemed to me it verified them," Peterson said before the defense rested its case.
Curt Krull, the Phillips' attorney, questioned whether Peterson had used correct data in his computer simulations. Other engineers determined that snow in the ditch would have had a greater slowing effect on Bouc's pickup as he skidded through it.
"Is this a program that spits out whatever data you feed it?" Krull asked.
"To some extent, yes," Peterson answered.
Peterson said he determined the snowmobiles were traveling 13-21 mph at the time of the accident, supporting a crash investigator's conclusion that the girls vaulted from the ditch into Bouc's path. Wade, the Phillips' engineer, said the girls were traveling 5-7 mph, a speed too slow to make them airborne.
James Torpy, who does Skogen Engineering Group's computerized crash animations, testified that Wade's animations did not support those findings because the animations showed the snowmobiles decelerating before impact at a different rate than Wade had determined.
Krull said no one knows whether the snowmobiles slowed down before impact.
"You have no facts that support your theory that the snowmobiles approached the point of impact at a constant speed, do you?" he asked Torpy.
"Correct," Torpy said.
Day six of the trial will resume this morning with the attorneys' closing arguments. The jury is expected to get the case and begin its deliberations around noon.
Nick Hytrek can be reached at 712-293-4226 or nickhytrek@siouxcityjournal.com.
Jurors will be left to sort out the findings.
An engineer testified Monday that he had determined Daniel Bouc's pickup truck was traveling slower at the time of a fatal collision with two snowmobiles than the speed estimated by an engineer hired by the parents of two of the crash victims.
Jeffery Peterson, vice president of engineering at Skogen Engineering Group of Madison, Wis., said his calculations were more accurate because his computer simulations of the crash showed skid and impact distances consistent with measurements taken by investigators at the scene.
Plugging those distances into a complex formula, Peterson determined Bouc was driving 46-54 mph and could not have seen snowmobiles driven by Andrea Phillips, 13, and Kallie Phillips, 10, in time to avoid the Dec. 12, 2003, collision that killed the girls and their passengers, Lauren Herbold, 11, and Kylie Koch, 10, near the Phillips' farm near Pierson, Iowa.
"I would say, yes, it is unavoidable," Peterson said.
Andrea and Kallie's parents, Darwin and Jacklyn Phillips, have sued Bouc, who was 16 at the time, in Woodbury County District Court on behalf of their daughters' estates for negligence, claiming the accident was his fault. Also named in the suit is Bouc's father, Fred, who owned the pickup.
The Boucs, also of Pierson, deny that Daniel Bouc was negligent. They say the collision was the girls' fault because they were on the road. Criminal charges never were filed against Bouc.
Mark Wade, an engineer who performed tests at the crash site last summer for the Phillipses, testified last week that Bouc was traveling 64-72 mph. Bouc testified Friday he was driving 50-55 mph. Darwin and Jacklyn Phillips both have testified Bouc told them shortly after the crash that he was going 55 or 60 mph.
Peterson, who said he studied the crash site two months after the accident and reached his conclusions before the defense hired him, testified Bouc couldn't have been traveling 70 mph because the snowmobiles would have come to a stop farther from the point of impact. At 50 mph, the "throw distance" of the snowmobiles nearly matches the distances from impact measured by investigators the day of the accident.
Peterson was not asked why or for whom he had done his initial testing.
"It seemed to me it verified them," Peterson said before the defense rested its case.
Curt Krull, the Phillips' attorney, questioned whether Peterson had used correct data in his computer simulations. Other engineers determined that snow in the ditch would have had a greater slowing effect on Bouc's pickup as he skidded through it.
"Is this a program that spits out whatever data you feed it?" Krull asked.
"To some extent, yes," Peterson answered.
Peterson said he determined the snowmobiles were traveling 13-21 mph at the time of the accident, supporting a crash investigator's conclusion that the girls vaulted from the ditch into Bouc's path. Wade, the Phillips' engineer, said the girls were traveling 5-7 mph, a speed too slow to make them airborne.
James Torpy, who does Skogen Engineering Group's computerized crash animations, testified that Wade's animations did not support those findings because the animations showed the snowmobiles decelerating before impact at a different rate than Wade had determined.
Krull said no one knows whether the snowmobiles slowed down before impact.
"You have no facts that support your theory that the snowmobiles approached the point of impact at a constant speed, do you?" he asked Torpy.
"Correct," Torpy said.
Day six of the trial will resume this morning with the attorneys' closing arguments. The jury is expected to get the case and begin its deliberations around noon.
Nick Hytrek can be reached at 712-293-4226 or nickhytrek@siouxcityjournal.com.
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 6 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
Jessica wrote on Jul 3, 2007 11:37 AM:
J L wrote on Jul 3, 2007 10:12 AM:
Jim wrote on Jul 3, 2007 8:29 AM:
Bouc supporter wrote on Jul 3, 2007 7:21 AM:
confused wrote on Jul 3, 2007 6:54 AM: