Death crash driver stopped taking pills so he could drink
Auvryn Scarlett, 53, faces two counts of second-degree murder over the deaths of mother-of-four Jackie Timmins, 47, and her partner, Andrew Hardie, 48, from Plymouth.
The couple died after the recycling vehicle mounted a kerb and crashed into them in Madison Square Garden on February 12 last year. They had been walking from a restaurant to the Comfort Inn where they were staying for a four-night Valentine's treat.
The New York Supreme Court yesterday heard evidence from neurologist Dr Anthony Paul Geraci who treated Scarlett immediately after the crash. Dr Geraci said he interviewed Scarlett about his medical history and about his social habits.
"He mentioned that he liked to drink beer and rum on weekends but the last drink had been two nights prior to when I saw him in the emergency room," said Dr Geraci. "I was struck by his statement he made that he stopped taking Dilantin, the medication to prevent seizures, because it interfered with the way he wanted to drink on weekends."
He said: "I've heard, in the context of other patients, that when they take Dilantin with alcohol the effects of the alcohol are diminished."
Dr Geraci also told the court that the chances of having an epileptic fit were higher while the body was metabolising alcohol. "There is a very general window of probably within 24 hours of the blood alcohol level getting down to zero... that the brain is susceptible and more likely to having a seizure," he said.
Defence lawyer Michael Biniakewitz pointed out that there was no record of a test carried to determine the levels of alcohol in Scarlett's blood on the day of the accident.
The court also heard medical evidence from Dr Jason Graham, a forensic pathologist at New York's Chief Medical Examiner's Office.
Dr Graham said Miss Timmins had been decapitated in the crash and that Mr Hardie suffered multiple injuries including broken ribs, which he said may have prevented him from breathing and caused his death.
Earlier the court heard that Scarlett, who suffers from epilepsy, told police after the crash he had not taken his medication for two weeks. He was initially charged with second- degree manslaughter but the murder charge was brought in to reflect new allegations that he had lied about having epilepsy to get a commercial driving licence.
The trial continues.
