Philip Lewis, a traffic collisions consultant and retired police officer testified to his analysis of the evidence in the case of Curtis Richardson
Topping our news – the latest development in the court trial of former Senator Curtis Richardson.
A retired Bermuda Police collisions investigator said based on injuries sustained, it is “impossible” that Marco Warren was initially struck by a taxi driven by Mr Richardson.
Curtis Richardson, who chose not to take the stand in his own defense, denies causing the death of promising footballer Marco Warren by driving without due care and attention in an incident in May 2023.
Expert witness Phillip Lewis, a retired inspector of the Bermuda Police Service and private traffic collision consultant, testified on behalf of the defense team representing Curtis Richardson.
He told the jury it was important that several witnesses said they saw Mr Warren walking unsteadily on his feet near Bay Corner early that morning, wearing dark clothing and in low visibility lighting.
Motorist Renee Wallace told police she saw a light-coloured Mazda type vehicle at Bay Corner traveling west, very fast.
Mr Lewis said there was no CCTV footage to verify that this ‘ghost vehicle’ was in the area.
At the time, Ms Tannock, a security guard who left the same event at Bailey’s Bay, was the last person to see Mr Warren walking before Mr Richardson arrived in the area.
Mr Lewis said there were only two possibilities: that vehicle turned left onto Trinity Church Road or Fractious Street, since the vehicle never caught up to Ms Tannock.
He said crown witness and collision investigator Glenn Luben’s comment that Mr Warren was struck as he crossed the road was “inaccurate”.
Mr Lewis told the jury that the autopsy report conducted by pathologist Dr Michael Pickup does not clearly say a vehicle ran over Marco Warren and there were no injuries to his tibia, fibia or ankles.
He said: “In every instance I can recall when pedestrians were stuck, there are always leg injuries. It was the absence of anything below the knee.”
“Mr Warren was more than likely struck twice based on the autopsy report. Mr Warren was struck multiple times, twice at least.
He said the injury to Mr Warren’s right upper buttock was a significant injury that indicates he was already down when a part of the vehicle made contact.
Ms Greening asked Mr Lewis, based on his analysis, how Mr Warren was struck the first time.
He said he could not say because there were no brake marks nor debris identified by the police. “If he was standing and knocked down as was stated by Mr Luben, I would have expected tire marks or impressions over the body or degloving … The pathologist made no mention of that,” Mr Lewis added.
BPS collision investigator, Shaquita Simmons, he noted, said “nothing remarkable” was found on taxi, T1194 and that indicates no contact between the vehicle and the deceased.
Mr Lewis said: “If there was contact, if struck, there would be dents or bumps to the front of the vehicle.”
Mr Lewis also stated in his report that “initial steps of the investigation left much to be desired.
Ms Greening asked whether enough was done by the Police to investigate this ghost car?
“In my opinion,” Mr Lewis replied, “no.”
During cross examination on Monday and Tuesday, Crown Prosecutor Carrington Mahoney said Mr Lewis made concessions yesterday that the taxi was the vehicle that ran over Marco Warren.
Mr Lewis clarified that the taxi was “most likely a vehicle” that struck Marco Warren.
He suggested that based on the evidence of damage to the car he was not fatally struck by the taxi driven by Curtis Richardson.
Mr Mahoney asked if he measured the indentation found above Marco Warren’s knee but Mr Lewis said he did not have access to the body to examine.
In a new line of questioning, Mr Lewis defended his decision not to review the 911 call made by the defendant from the scene.
He said it did not change the evidence found on the road.
It was suggested Mr Lewis ignored reviewing the audio or transcript of the call because it did not support his evidence.
The crown noted that the taxi driven by the defendant that night was not inspected by traffic investigators until 10 days after the incident.
“Do you know if anything was done to the vehicle in between that time?”, Mr Mahoney asked.
Mr Lewis said, “Nobody knows.”
Mr Mahoney accused the witness of making it up as he goes along to which Mr Lewis firmly denied.
During re-examination, Ms Greening asked what part of the taxi made contact with Marco Warren.
Mr Lewis told the jury: “I would say the front left corner or front bumper on the left side of the vehicle because of the evidence that Curtis Richardson had swerved and later, evidence from Mr Crane that he saw the defendant swerve to the side.”
The trial continues.
