Jury May Get Deputy Fatality Case Today

Sheriff’s Deputy Lisa Whitney died last year at the wheel of an unmarked patrol car after it was hit by a motorist who failed to notice the lights were not working at a Ventura intersection.

A tragedy, yes. But an accident?

Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Simon told a jury Tuesday the answer is no.

In closing arguments of Tanya Pittman’s vehicular manslaughter trial, Simon argued the defendant caused the deadly Aug. 12, 1998, crash because her judgment was clouded by a mix of prescription and illegal drugs.

A potent combination of methamphetamine and a muscle relaxant called Soma so impaired Pittman’s ability to drive, Simon argued, that she barreled through a faulty stoplight and killed a 28-year-old peace officer.

“What you have here is a person driving down the street with all kinds of drugs in her system,” Simon told the jury. “It’s a recipe for disaster.”

But in his closing summation, defense attorney James M. Farley argued the prosecutor failed to prove drugs had triggered the crash--a critical conclusion the jury must reach to find Pittman guilty of felony vehicular manslaughter.

Pittman, a Ventura resident, faces two vehicular manslaughter counts. A felony charge alleges Pittman was under the influence at the time of the crash, and a misdemeanor count alleges she was speeding.

The jury is expected to take up deliberations in the case this morning. Pittman faces a possible prison sentence if found guilty of the felony charge.

Evidence at trial showed trace amounts of drugs in Pittman’s system: 0.12 milligrams of methamphetamine and 0.58 milligrams of Soma. Farley said those amounts were not enough to impair his client’s judgment “to an appreciable degree,” which is the legal standard for a conviction.

“It’s not there,” Farley said.

Farley noted that two police officers who observed Pittman at the scene reported she did not appear to be under the influence of any drugs. Farley also referred to the testimony of motorists who said they did not notice the lights were not working until shortly before reaching the intersection.

He challenged the county crime lab’s conclusion that one of the drugs detected in Pittman’s system was methamphetamine, an illegal stimulant.

During the trial, the defendant’s mother testified she gave Pittman, 37, tablets of Sudafed and Claritin--common cold and allergy medications--just hours before the crash to ease a sinus condition.

Calling the lab results “not an exact science,” Farley suggested Tuesday the lab tests may have confused the ingredients in Sudafed for methamphetamine.

Two lab technicians testified last week, however, that the tests are more precise. They said the tests distinguish between over-the-counter drugs and illegal substances, including methamphetamine.

The drug issue is the key point of contention in Pittman’s trial. She has admitted speeding through the intersection, but denied using illegal drugs before the crash.

“There is no doubt the defendant ingested methamphetamine that day,” Simon countered.

Three experts testified for the prosecution, telling jurors the amount of drugs in Pittman’s system was enough to impair her judgment. Simon called the Claritin/Sudafed defense a “fishing expedition.”

According to court testimony, Pittman was driving 56 mph in a 45-mph zone when she entered the intersection of Hill and Telephone roads in east Ventura. The crash occurred at 6:49 p.m.

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

Whitney, an Oxnard resident, was driving to Camarillo to interview a witness in a rape case she was investigating. She was making a left turn onto Telephone Road when her car was hit by Pittman, who was driving to work at United Parcel Service.