Defendant Admitted Drinking

One of the first things James Rivard said after he hit and killed a 20-year-old skateboarder in Peaceful Valley was “I had too much to drink,” a Spokane police officer testified in court Thursday.

The 26-year-old commercial real estate salesman is charged with vehicular homicide. His trial began Wednesday.

His victim, Jim Mecsko, died from head trauma after being hit Dec. 1 by Rivard’s Honda Accord on Main Avenue.

Rivard admitted to drinking three or four beers prior to the accident. But Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Connor would not allow his blood test to be admitted as evidence. Police gave the test which showed the defendant had a .13 blood-alcohol level - without warning Rivard how it could be used against him, O’Connor ruled.

The prosecution twice requested emergency hearings before the Washington Court of Appeals to overrule O’Connor’s decision. Both requests were denied.

Attorneys on both sides tiptoed around the drunken driving issue Thursday.

The defense brought in an expert witness who said Rivard’s driving would not have been affected by the beers. The prosecution’s expert said it definitely would have been impaired.

When Rivard took the stand, he described himself as a “light drinker” who is not affected by three or four beers. He said he drinks about twice a week with friends, as he did at the Viking Tavern the night of the accident.

Officer James Olsen, however, told the jury Rivard had difficulty performing four of five sobriety tests he took at the scene. The defendant “almost did fall down” while performing one test, Olsen testified.

Cpl. Harry Kennedy said speed tests done at the scene show Rivard was going about 68 mph down the 25 mph street. Given the point of impact and the length of the skid marks, Rivard would have been able to stop at least 80 feet from the victim if he had been driving the speed limit, Kennedy said.

But Rivard said he tends to exceed the speed limit on Main Avenue because he drives it at least twice a day and is familiar with its traffic patterns. He told Officer Olsen at the scene he thought he was going about 45 mph.

While skateboarders are not allowed on city sidewalks, there is no law against them being in the street, Kennedy said.

Rivard said he had never before seen skateboarders on the road, and he said he didn’t see Mecsko until it was too late. Rivard said the skateboarder was a “dark blur” off to the right of his car up until the point he hit him.

Exactly how dark Main Avenue was the night of the accident was a point of fierce debate between prosecutor Carol Davis and defense attorney Richard Bechtolt.

To help, O’Connor scheduled a “view” for the jury and took them in a van to the scene of the accident. They were allowed to look at the street but could not ask questions or speak to one another.

Bechtolt won an argument to not allow markers on the roadway during the jury’s visit that would identify where the body was found or where the first point of impact was.

Jurors had to rely on their own memories of maps and photographs of the accident scene that were presented during the trial.

Closing statements will begin this morning.