THE SIDELINES : Detective Testifies Martin, Not Friend, Was at Wheel in Crash

A private investigator testified today that former major-league Manager Billy Martin was driving when his pickup truck went out of control last Christmas Day and smashed into a culvert.

Martin’s companion that night, Detroit bar owner William Reedy, is on trial for driving while intoxicated, but he has maintained that Martin was behind the wheel.

William Fischer, a private investigator from Endicott, N.Y., and Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., said his examination of the truck the morning after the accident showed several signs that Martin, and not Reedy, was driving.

Fischer said the fabric on the left knee of the pants Reedy was wearing when the crash occurred was imprinted on the dashboard of the pickup truck just to the right of the steering wheel. That indicated that Reedy slid across from the passenger side of the vehicle on impact, Fischer said.

In addition, the private detective said that a footprint in the foot well on the passenger side of the truck matched a shoe Reedy had on and that an imprint on Reedy’s jacket that night appeared to have been made by the radio panel of the truck.