Suppress evidence, driver in fatal crash asks: At issue is suspect’s blood draw

A defense attorney for a Columbus tow truck driver accused of rear-ending a vehicle, causing the death of a Brown County man, is asking that his client’s blood test results not be allowed into evidence.

Indianapolis attorney John Razumich argued Tuesday that even though Ruel P. Pedigo III, 49, of 1085 Jonesville Road, consented to the blood draw following the Jan. 27 fatal accident, there was no probable cause for Columbus police officers to offer or require it.

Pedigo is accused in Bartholomew Circuit Court of operating a vehicle with a controlled substance in the blood, a Level 4 felony, the most serious among charges he faces. Pedigo has also been charged with reckless homicide, a Level 5 felony, and causing serious bodily injury when operating a motor vehicle with a controlled substance in the blood, a Level 6 felony.

A toxicology report showed Pedigo had methamphetamine and amphetamine, a metabolite of methamphetamine, in his blood when the accident occurred, court documents stated.

The charges stem from a multi-vehicle accident at 7:40 p.m. Jan. 27 in the eastbound lanes of Jonathan Moore Pike near Johnson Boulevard, involving as many as six vehicles.

Investigators said Pedigo was driving a Ford F650 tow truck with a vehicle on the flatbed when he rear-ended a Mazda 3 car driven by Patrick N. Bowman, 35, of Brown County, who died from injuries sustained in the crash. Bowman, who was originally from Columbus, graduated from Columbus North High School in 2001.

An adult passenger in Bowman’s car, Sarah Fliehman, also of Brown County, suffered a head injury.

A number of collisions occurred among vehicles in front of the Mazda after the tow truck hit it, accident reconstructionists said in court documents.

On Tuesday, Columbus Police Sgt. Ben Goodin, who is certified to administer sobriety field tests and as a drug recognition expert, testified he was supervising investigation of the accident, and came upon Pedigo leaning against his tow truck. Goodin testified he asked Pedigo if he was injured and Pedigo replied that his back hurt. Goodin also asked him if he had taken any medications, and Pedigo said no.

Goodin said he did not observe any obvious signs of Pedigo being intoxicated, which would have included slurred speech, glassy eyes or poor balance.

All the drivers involved in the chain-reaction accident, with the exception of Bowman who had died, were given portable breath tests, which everyone passed with no indication of alcohol having being consumed by anyone, the officer testified.

Later in arguments about the motion, it was noted that portable breath tests only provide an indication of alcohol intoxication and will not show any intoxication caused by drugs.

The officer did find it unusual that Pedigo stayed in his truck for a time as police worked at the scene. Goodin said he told officer John Morphew to read Pedigo the implied consent request for a blood draw since it was a fatal accident.

Goodin said he ordered Morphew to do so because Pedigo had caused the accident and it involved a fatality.

Morphew testified he read the implied consent request to Pedigo from a card he carries in his pocket and that Pedigo consented to the blood draw.

The officer also said he had some question about Pedigo’s reaction to a field test of the driver’s vision, saying he had to tell Pedigo more than once, but less than five times, to keep his head still and follow the officer’s finger with his eyes. Instead of following the instruction, Morphew said Pedigo simply stared straight ahead and the instructions had to be repeated.

Under questioning from Razumich, the officers acknowledged that individuals involved in accidents may be disoriented and may not understand instructions at an accident scene.

Pedigo did give a statement to police about the accident to Morphew at the hospital, Morphew testified.

Pedigo told investigators he had just exited I-65 South and was heading east on Jonathan Moore Pike when an unidentified small black car changed from the left-turn lane to Pedigo’s lane. Pedigo told police he tried to brake, but slid, causing the accident, court documents state.

Pedigo told police he was going 25 to 30 mph when he hit the Mazda. However, when investigators downloaded the airbag diagnostic sensing module in the tow truck, the data showed he was traveling between 37 and 40 mph in the seconds leading up to the crash and that he did not apply the brakes until about 1 second prior to impact with the Mazda, court documents state.

Bartholomew County Deputy Prosecutor Lindsey Kay argued that police followed procedure and Indiana law in seeking the blood draw, and that Pedigo consented and signed the form signifying his consent.

Razumich argued that officers didn’t have probable cause after the portable breath test to seek the blood draw, and it violated Pedigo’s Fourth Amendment rights because the sample was obtained without a warrant.

Bartholomew Circuit Court Judge Kelly Benjamin took the motion to suppress the blood draw evidence under advisement.

Upon a joint motion of both attorneys, Pedigo’s jury trial was moved to 8:30 a.m. April 30, with a pre-trial hearing set for 11:15 a.m. March 25. Kay has said earlier that the prosecutor’s office would not offer any plea bargain in the case.