Distracteddriving by a now-former Cal Fire unit chief caused the death of a 48-year-old Banning father of two in 2012, a San Bernardino County deputy district attorney told a jury during opening statements in a misdemeanor trial Tuesday, Nov. 17. googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Prosecutor Mallory Miller said when the traffic on the 210 freeway slowed on Aug. 1, 2012, to 16 to 18 mph near the eastbound Del Rosa Avenue exit, evidence will show that then-Chief Timothy McClelland continued in his state-owned pickup at 70 mph and “did not apply the brakes, not even once before he collided into the back of Gregory Kirwin’s Ford Focus.” googleoff: allgoogleon: all
McClelland has pleaded not guilty to one charge of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in the August 2012 freeway collision between the Waterman Avenue exit in San Bernardino and the Del Rosa Avenue exit in Highland.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
“This case is about responsibility and it’s about degree of responsibility,” an assessment the jury will be asked to make, William Hadden, McClelland’s defense attorney, said in his opening statement. googleoff: allgoogleon: all
“Very tragically an accident occurred,” he said, while McClelland was changing lanes and struck Kirwin’s vehicle from behind. googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Hadden said McClelland started with the department as a volunteer at age 16, his only previous on-duty vehicle accident was when his vehicle was rear-ended. In his position at the time of the accident, he was essentially on duty 24 hours a day to respond to fires and other emergencies. googleoff: allgoogleon: all
At the time of the accident, McClelland was chief of Cal Fire’s San Bernardino County unit, which encompasses all of San Bernardino, Inyo and Mono counties. googleoff: allgoogleon: all
He had left his office on North Sierra Way in San Bernardino sometime after 4:45 p.m. and was headed east on the freeway.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
During her opening statement, the prosecutor displayed on a projection screen a list that showed how McClelland had been texting and talking on his phone using a hands-free device in the almost 10 minutes leading up to the crash. googleoff: allgoogleon: all
From 4:58 p.m. until the 5:07 p.m. accident time, she said records show up to four outgoing text messages and three incoming texts, followed by an incoming call at 5:04 p.m. She said the defendant “lost sight of what was going on around him” and was driving at an unsafe speed. googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Kirwin’s car hit a silver 2003 Chevrolet Impala, but initially it was unclear whether the Impala or the Ford Focus was hit first, the California Highway Patrol reported at the time. McClelland, who lived in Beaumont, and the Impala’s driver Kenneth Bietz, of Yucaipa, suffered only minor injuries. googleoff: allgoogleon: all
In November 2013, the state of California agreed to pay $15 million in a settlement to Kirwin’s two young daughters, with the payment approved in a bill by the Legislature and signed by the governor. Most of the funds were placed in a trust fund.