Accident Safety & Reconstruction: February 2010 Archives

31-year-old Army veteran Seth Linaman has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault and boating under the influence in the boating accident at Alcova Reservoir last spring.  Gary Boyd, boat accident reconstruction expert with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, testified Tuesday that that the four seats were occupied when the boat crashed into a canyon wall. 

Prosecutors claim however, that shortly before Seth Linaman's boat struck a Fremont Canyon wall on May 16, Linaman, standing beside the driver's seat, grabbed the vessel's steering wheel and throttled the boat into an oncoming wake.  Linaman faces more than 20 years behind bars if convicted of all counts.

For more, see trib.com.

A New Jersey trucker who caused an April 2008 crash on Woodford Mountain that took the lives of three people was sentenced Friday to serve six months in prison.  Kenneth Middlebusher, 44, appeared in Bennington District Courtand received a 1- to 10-year suspended sentence as part of a plea agreement. Middlebusher

MIddlebusher pleaded guilty on Oct. 27 to gross negligent operation of a motor vehicle with resulting fatality. Because it is a felony charge, Middlebusher will permanently lose his commercial license. He will also lose his privilege to drive a vehicle in Vermont for one year.  On April 16, 2008, Middlebusher was driving a truck loaded with 8,000 pound rolls of paper heading west on Route 9. Middlebusher lost control of the vehicle while heading down a steep hill and traveled into the opposite lane, where he collided with two other vehicles. 

Police said that drugs and alcohol were not factors. Expert witnesses were unable to determine how much of a role Middlebusher’s unsecured load played in the crash, police said. Accident reconstruction expert John Serth Jr.  was called by the defense and said that based on his investigation, he believes that Middlebusher applied his brakes, which caused him to skid.

For more, see benningtonbannner.com.