Trial is ordered in vehicular manslaughter case

SANDPOINT - A Clark Fork man was ordered Wednesday to stand trial for accidentally killing his friend in an alcohol-related rollover crash earlier this month.

Judge Barbara Buchanan found there was sufficient evidence to support a felony charge of vehicular manslaughter against Zachary Bradshaw Palmer. He is scheduled to be arraigned in 1st District Court next month.

Palmer, 20, was charged after crashing the Chevrolet Corvette he was driving on River Road on Oct. 8. The early afternoon crash southeast of Clark Fork took the life of Tyler James Pesce, an 18-year-old from Hope who was a passenger in the sports car.

Idaho State Police said Palmer was westbound in the Corvette when he lost control of the vehicle near the Cabinet Gorge Road turnoff.

The car went into a ditch on the north side of the route before crossing over the road and traveling some distance in the ditch on the south side. The vehicle ended up overturning and Pesce was pinned in his seat, according to state police.

Trooper Terry Ford testified on Wednesday that Palmer initially declined to answer questions about the crash, but changed his mind as he was being led away from an interview room at the Bonner County Sheriff's Office.

"He stated he didn't remember anything about the crash," Cpl. Ford told the court.

Ford also testified that Palmer admitted drinking vodka prior to the crash and Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Roger Hanlon entered into evidence an ISP forensic lab report on blood samples taken from Palmer and Pesce.

The lab analysis of Palmer's sample detected 0.13 grams of ethyl alcohol per 100 cubic centimeters of blood, meaning he was nearly twice the state's legal limit of 0.08. The analysis detected no ethyl alcohol in Pesce's blood.

Palmer's defense counsel, Sandpoint attorney Michael Waldrup, objected to the admission of the lab results because the state not established enough foundation to connect them with his client.

Under defense questioning, Ford testified he was not present when the samples were taken or when they were logged for overnight storage at the Sandpoint Police Department. The day after the crash, Ford said he took the samples home and kept them in a refrigerator overnight so they could be delivered to the ISP lab the next day.

Hanlon, however, drew out testimony from Ford that his temporary storage of the evidence was not contrary to ISP standard operating procedures. Hanlon also argued the lab results were admissible in this stage of the proceedings.

Buchanan ultimately overruled the defense objection, finding that the names and date of the blood draw sufficiently linked the report to the case.

"There's certainly enough to tie this report to this case," she said.

Hanlon attempted to use Ford's testimony that the Corvette was on a meandering path, the crash scene which stretched for more than two football fields and evidence of alcohol use to sustain an allegation that Palmer was grossly negligent.

But Waldrup argued there was no evidence presented to demonstrate Palmer's alleged negligence.

"There's zero evidence of gross negligence," said Waldrup, adding that an elevated blood-alcohol content did not automatically mean his client was grossly negligent.

Buchanan seemed to agree, but ruled that the prosecution met its burden on the driving under the influence component of the felony charge.