Woman, 37, Stands Trial in Death of Sheriff’s Deputy

Accident or drug-induced negligence?

That is the question pending before a Ventura County jury, which began hearing evidence Thursday in the Superior Court trial of a 37-year-old woman who allegedly sped through a Ventura intersection last year and killed a county sheriff’s deputy by slamming into her unmarked patrol car.

Tanya Pittman of Ventura is being tried on two charges of vehicular manslaughter, one a misdemeanor and the other a felony.

The difference between the charges rests on whether the prosecution can prove that Pittman, a former United Parcel Service employee, was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time she struck Deputy Lisa Whitney’s car Aug. 12, 1998.

In opening statements, Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Simon told jurors that the case shows “speed kills,” referring both to the drug and the manner in which Pittman was allegedly driving on her way to work.

Simon said the evidence will show Pittman was driving 56 mph in a 45-mph zone when she barreled through an intersection at 6:49 p.m. near the Ventura Government Center.

Toxicology tests later confirmed that Pittman had small amounts of methamphetamine and a muscle relaxant called Soma in her system at the time of the crash, Simon said.

“The defendant should not have been driving when she caused the death of Lisa Whitney,” he told the jury.

But defense attorney James Farley denied that his client had used drugs prior to getting behind the wheel of her red Toyota pickup.

In his opening statement, Farley told jurors that evidence will show no one--including two police officers--noticed any symptoms of drug use at the time of the crash.

“The evidence is going to show you this was an accident,” Farley said.

Whitney, a 28-year-old deputy, died of massive injuries to her head and chest. She was traveling to Camarillo to interview witnesses in a criminal case she had been investigating.

According to witnesses who testified at Pittman’s preliminary hearing, the stoplight at Hill and Telephone roads was not functioning and cars were stopping to take turns driving through the busy intersection.

About 10 minutes earlier, a transformer explosion had knocked out power to the intersection’s traffic signals.

As Whitney’s car slowly pulled forward, witnesses said, a pickup truck plowed into the intersection and slammed into the deputy’s vehicle.

Two witnesses identified Pittman as the pickup’s driver, and two others said she appeared to be speeding. One witness said he heard screeching brakes before the crash, suggesting Pittman may have tried to stop to avoid a collision.

Farley did not dispute that his client was the driver. He said the issue for the jury will be to decide whether Pittman was under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash.

The trial is expected to last about five days and testimony is scheduled to resume this morning.