After five hours of deliberation the jury has found William K. Johnson not guilty of manslaughter charges the deaths of Sierra and Larry Gaunt. It’s a stunning verdict in what many thought was a pretty clear case of reckless driving.
Many people will be shocked and upset at the verdict, but it’s important to remember that this case was brought to justice. Unlike most cases in this area, this particular motorist was actually charged with a felony and went to trial. Regardless of the outcome, just the fact that it went to trial is huge step forward for traffic justice in Kansas City.
Posted on Wed, Jul. 16, 2008Driver acquitted in deaths of two
By KEVIN HOFFMANN
The Kansas City StarEmotion spilled over Wednesday as the verdict came in for a motorist on trial over the deaths of a man and his granddaughter as they rode their bikes.
A dozen Jackson County residents deliberated for five hours before finding William K. Johnson not guilty of two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of Larry Gaunt, 59, and Sierra Gaunt, 14.
The Gaunt family and their supporters reacted with sobs and buried their heads in their hands.
Anthony Gaunt, father of Sierra and son of Larry, struggled to stay on his feet. Outside the courthouse, he angrily demanded to know how a person could get away with plowing into and killing two people.
Johnson, 49, tried to remain stoic after the verdict. But he soon pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his eyes. As the Gaunts filed past, one of Johnson’s supporters began to cry.
Those emotions had been building since Aug. 6, when the elder Gaunt was helping Sierra prepare for an MS-150 bike ride, a long-distance ride that benefits victims of multiple sclerosis. It was her first. An avid cyclist, her grandfather had pedaled through about a dozen of the events.
The two were nearing Harry Truman Drive when Johnson’s blue 1985 Chevrolet pickup slammed into their bikes, throwing them to the pavement. Larry Gaunt died at the scene. Sierra died at a hospital.
The question was whether the collision constituted a crime. Prosecutors said yes, and called Johnson’s actions reckless.
They pointed to police calculations that determined that Johnson was going at least 54 mph in a 45 mph zone. They called witnesses who testified that the road was flat, straight and dry. They continually went back to evidence that showed the left lane next to Johnson was completely clear.
That’s what baffled assistant prosecutor Traci Stansell. When Johnson took the witness stand Wednesday, he said he often drove that stretch of road. He knew cyclists frequented it, he said.
He was 960 feet — more than three football fields — away from the Gaunts when he first saw them. And more than 12 seconds passed before he caught up to them. Yet Johnson, a handyman who was taking his son to football practice, agreed that he never moved into the open left lane and never slowed down until slamming on his brakes right before the impact.
Just because Johnson did not move over, that did not make him a criminal, defense attorney Brian Greer argued.
“There is no law requiring operators of motor vehicles to switch lanes of a roadway when there is a vehicle on the shoulder except when that vehicle is law enforcement,” he told jurors.
Greer pointed to police tests that showed Johnson was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He highlighted accounts of witnesses who testified that the Gaunts were on or near the shoulder before the accident.
He said that when those same witnesses saw the Gaunts in the roadway just before being struck, the testimony backed up Johnson’s account that they swerved in front of him.
Greer questioned much of the state’s evidence, especially calculations by police that determined Johnson was speeding.
During closing arguments, he said the state took wrong measurements and failed to consider the truck’s extra weight when computing its minimum speed.
“That’s important,” he told jurors. “They’re claiming he was speeding, and because of his speeding he is criminally negligent.”
The jury foreman said deliberations were divided at times, and that jurors discussed a lesser charge, but came to the unanimous decision on acquittal. When asked what they relied on to reach that decision, she said: “The evidence that we had.”
Perhaps lost amid two days of testimony from eyewitnesses and traffic officers, from accident photos and autopsy reports, was a simple exchange between Stansell the prosecutor and the defendant Johnson.
“Do you know what ‘share the road’ means?” she asked.
“Yes,” he answered.
More than once, Johnson was asked why he didn’t move over into the clear left lane. Force of habit, he replied. It was, he said, his driving style.
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Killing bicyclists is apparently a socially acceptable form of homicide!
As a cyclist, the outcome is certainly disappointing, given the evidence available to through the media. I think Johnson should not get away scot-free. There is no excuse for not moving into the open lane, regardless of “force of habit.” Perhaps the laws should be corrected, since Johnson’s actions (staying in the occupied lane, despite having a clear lane to use) were apparently not illegal.
As much as I hate the over-use of litigation, when the justice system is not capable of righting a wrong, like it was in this case, a civil suit is probably the next best answer. Sort of like in the O.J. trial… he couldn’t be convicted of the crime, but he was still (to a lesser extent) punished for his actions by a civil suit. I’m sure the Gaunts don’t care for any money a civil suit may net, but at least they could put it towards a good use, like providing bike lanes on this road, a memorial scholarship fund, or maybe just lobbying lawmakers to create laws tougher on reckless drivers.
If you want to show your support for cycling safety and share the road issues and even possibly get interviewed too, come join us TONIGHT, THURSDAY EVENING, at 5:15: meeting place of 291 and Lakewood Boulevard. Look for cyclists at the parking lots west of 291. If not there, go to the gas station on the East side of 291. They will be at one of those two spots. Channel four news will be present. It would be great to see a ton of cyclist show up!!!
Pictures from the Memorial Ride in 2007 are located at http://www.tyeland.com/gaunt with Brad Gaunt’s knowledge.
also news casts from the evening of the accident and the evening of the trial verdict.
Our hearts go out to their entire family.
Last year was my first year of road riding. Mountain biked for many years.
I’d decided that I would do the MS150 this year and after hearing that Larry and Sierra were training for that I will be doing it for sure for the first time and thinking of them as it would have been Sierra’s first.
My name is jeanine and I am sierra’s stepmother and larry was my father in law I just want to comment on the trial. This was obviously devaststing 4 our family. 2 watch this man walk away free and clear. Of course we have thought of a civil suit do u think that actually affects O.J. That that’s there something to civilly convict him. We will not obtain anything of any substance from this “handy man” who will make sure he’s paid under the table from that point on. He claimed he had no help with his son to get him around,as soon as they gave him his liscense back he showed up with his wife. There are so many sides but as a human being our familly sat in front of these jury members our world ripped appart with no chance of it returning 2 normal the only baby girl my husband and I had is gone and the only love my mother in law has ever known is gone and these jurors can honestly look them selves in the mirror and think their decision was correct. I hope each and everyone of them gos to that scene and see’s what we see.PURE negligence! What we really need is 4 the people we put in these court rooms 2 take this seriously and not as some pain in the ass they got stuck doing. They have pure and absolute power over what happens to the people who damage our community and put the lives of the people we love in danger. They were so worried about getting out by 5 that this man is now out putting all the people u love in danger. What was unable 2 be mentioned was this man was put in jail 2 weeks b4 the aCcident 4 doing 90 in a 65. I just hope that if ne one gets jury duty please know that when ur thinking of being in the shoes of the person being charged look over and imagine that u were sitting there awaiting justice 4 two people who did absolutely nothing wrong and imagine how u would feel if 12 people held that power but really didn’t care or take it seriously. We also need to drop our predjudiceness at the door and that is directed 2 the foreman of that jury who was a black woman. In case she didn’t remember those witness to that accident were black also and so was the litlle girl that walks around with MY BABY GIRLS heart beating in her chest. Thanks 4 listening everyone