Minn. man closer to new trial in Toyota crash
A hearing will be held Aug. 2 to determine whether a new trial should be granted to a St. Paul man who was driving a Toyota in a crash that killed three people, a judge ordered Tuesday.
Ramsey County District Judge Joanne Smith's order was a victory for Koua Fong Lee, 32, who insists he did everything he could to stop his 1996 Camry before it slammed into another car at high speed at the top of a freeway exit ramp in 2006. A father and son died that day while three others were severely injured, including a girl who died after Lee's conviction.
A jury didn't believe Lee and found him guilty of two counts of criminal vehicular homicide and three counts of criminal vehicular operation, accepting prosecution arguments that Lee had to have hit the gas instead of the brakes. Smith sentenced him to eight years in prison.
In her order Tuesday, Smith cited the report of a defense expert who participated in a re-inspection of the wreckage of Lee's car in April, as well as other information that has emerged in recent months about the problem of sudden unintended acceleration in some Toyotas.
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"It is the Court's intent to hear and decide this matter as expeditiously as possible," Smith wrote.
Lee's attorney, Brent Schafer, called Smith's order "very good" news for Lee, who remains locked up at the state prison in Lino Lakes. But he said getting the evidentiary hearing is just a first step. He said they still need to persuade the judge that Lee deserves a new trial.
Schafer said he expects the hearing could last a couple days. He said he hopes to present testimony or affidavits from about 26 Toyota drivers who say they've experienced sudden unintended acceleration, as well as defense inspector Richard Dusek, who concluded Lee was braking at the time of the crash and found sticking problems in the car's accelerator system. Schafer said he also may present an expert to comment on whether Lee's original defense attorney made mistakes in his handling of the case.
Prosecutors will be able to cross-examine the defense witnesses and present their own witnesses. Paul Gustafson, a spokesman for the Ramsey County Attorney's Office, said they still were deciding how to proceed.
The prosecution last week argued against a new trial, submitting reports from its own inspectors who said they found no evidence of any problems with the car that would have led to the fatal crash. But County Attorney Susan Gaertner welcomed Smith's decision.
"I believe Judge Smith is correct in saying that an evidentiary hearing is the only way to resolve allegations that Mr. Lee received inadequate assistance of counsel in his trial. It is my hope that the hearing will bring clarity to all the issues involved in this case," Gaertner said in a statement.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
