Mother Denies Speeding in Fatal Crash

A Canyon Country mother on trial for vehicular manslaughter in the death of her infant son denied Friday that her speeding caused the crash or that her failure to secure the baby’s car seat caused his fatal injuries.

Lesia Smith-Pappas, 33, testified she was driving at or near the speed limit when loose gravel on the shoulder of the road caused her to lose control of the family van.

Taking the witness stand in her own defense, she suggested that passersby, paramedics and emergency room doctors may have inadvertently caused the death of her 3-month-old son, Alex.

“I believe they made some mistakes, yeah,” Smith-Pappas testified.

“Isn’t it true that the only person you think is innocent in this case is you?” Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Foltz Jr. asked.

“I didn’t say that,” Smith-Pappas retorted.

Foltz alleged that none of the children were wearing seat belts when Smith-Pappas rolled the van while driving along a curve on Bouquet Canyon Road at speeds estimated at 65 to 70 mph.

The prosecutor contends that Smith-Pappas was criminally negligent for speeding and failing to buckle up her children. And, Foltz points to two citations she received for failing to restrain her children with seat belts.

As she had during her first day of tearful testimony, Smith-Pappas wore a pin with a picture of Alex over her heart. But on Friday, her tears were replaced by stiff indignation as Foltz peppered her with questions.

Through his questions, the prosecutor was attempting to leave jurors with the impression that Smith-Pappas has refused to accept responsibility for her own role in the fatal Aug. 29, 1995, crash.

Smith-Pappas was driving the children to school when she lost control of the van, which crossed the center line, struck an oncoming car, rolled and became airborne, sailing over oleander bushes into a field. According to one witness, the van flew even over telephone wires.

At one point, Foltz pointed to earlier testimony that the straps of the baby’s car seat had twisted eight or ten times around the child’s neck--indicating that the car seat couldn’t possibly have been secured by a seat belt, as Smith-Pappas maintains.

“If the seat was free to fly around the van, wouldn’t the fact that these straps were twisted eight to ten times around the baby’s neck indicate that the baby and the seat were spinning independently?” Foltz asked.

“No, I don’t think so,” Smith-Pappas responded.

Smith-Pappas was the final witness in the two-week trial.

“It was a very difficult time, and now I leave it in God’s hands,” Smith-Pappas said during an interview. “I know I didn’t do anything wrong, and now maybe my family can heal. I haven’t had the opportunity to grieve my son’s death.”

Attorneys are expected to begin their closing arguments Monday afternoon.