Defense expert: Michael Grasing going slower than other witnesses say in drunken driving murder trial

An accident reconstruction expert hired by the defense testified Monday in Riverhead that the West Babylon man charged with murder in a drunken driving crash was going as much as 30 mph slower than witnesses have estimated.

Rick Swope, hired by attorneys for Michael Grasing also said the victim, Brittney Walsh, 18, of Lindenhurst, was partly in the right lane when her Kia sport utility vehicle was hit from behind. Swope, who said he has reconstructed about 4,500 crashes, based his conclusions on photos and measurements of the scene made by Suffolk police after the June 24, 2012 crash and two surveillance videos of the Lindenhurst crash.

Grasing, 34, is on trial before state Supreme Court Justice Mark Cohen, charged with second-degree murder for killing Walsh while driving recklessly and at high speed with a blood-alcohol content four times the legal limit. If Swope's conclusions are correct, it would undermine the prosecution's attempt to prove Grasing's recklessness.

During questioning by attorney Jonathan Manley, Swope said Walsh's Kia was mostly damaged when it rolled over after Grasing's Nissan hit it. The impact damage is relatively minor, he said.

"It's not a massive impact at that point," Swope said. If Grasing had been going as fast as some witnesses claimed -- more than 90 mph -- he would have pushed Walsh's bumper almost into her front seat, he said.

He estimated Walsh was traveling about 45 mph and that Grasing was doing 65 to 70 mph when he hit her. Just a half second after impact, Swope said the video showed Grasing going about 62 mph, not much faster than the tumbling Kia. If Grasing was going much faster, he would have left the Kia behind much faster after impact, he said.

"The video really shows us everything we need," he said.

During a combative cross-examination, Assistant District Attorney Laura Newcombe attacked everything from Swope's ethics to his math. She noted that Swope, a former sheriff's deputy in Broward County, Florida, was investigated by internal affairs after leaving the department over allegations of conflict of interest. He was accused of investigating a case while a business partner did reconstruction on the same case for the defense.

Swope said the charges were unfounded and he left the department on good terms.

Newcombe suggested a reconstruction formula with different assumptions would show an impact of 92 mph, but Swope said her formula was "incorrect."

He also differed with her on whether Grasing's car had an event data recorder that would have recorded his speed. When he insisted the car had one, Newcombe asked why he didn't retrieve the information. Swope said the police have control of the car and he thought they would have retrieved it.

"Why?" Newcombe asked.

"I thought you would have done a proper investigation," he replied.