Murder Trial: Jury Hears Testimony of Previous Crest Accidents

The jurors who will decide whether is guilty of murder in his 2009 wreck that killed two people heard testimony Monday about 10 previous accidents on that same stretch of road - one that included a big rig that narrowly missed hitting anyone.

Overuling the objections of Deputy District Attorney Carolina Lugo, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Darrell Mavis allowed defense expert Alan Coulter to testify about multiple injury-involved accidents on Angeles Crest Highway. Those accidents, that date some 50 years, left victims dead and wounded - yet those drivers were not charged with murder.

"The fact that these accidents have happened several times before 2009 shows what a dangerous road this is,'' said Edward Murphy, who is defending 46-year-old Costa against two counts of second-degree murder, felony reckless driving and vehicular manslaughter.

Killed in the Apr. 1, 2009 accident were , of Palmdale. Costa's 18-wheeler, racing wihtout brakes down the stretch of the Crest just north of La Cañada, slammed into the Poscas' Ford sedan, killing them on impact.

Because an off-duty firefighter pulled over the rig and pointed out to Costa and his co-driver Jose Soares, that the vehicle's brakes were smoking miles back on Angeles Forest Highway, and still the men forged on, Lugo has argued Costa had a wanton disregard for human life. She has pointed out that the men ignored a small sign near the start of their route in Littlerock, CA that forbid trucks over three tons.

Conversely, Murphy has told the Pasadena jury that Costa, a native Portuguese speaker who has used an interpreter throughout the trial, did not "murder'' anyone and performed every move he could think of to stop the 25-ton vehicle, as it raced uncontrollably toward bustling Foothill Boulevard.

He did not, Lugo elicited from Costa on the witness stand last week, try to use the mountainside, trees or a park to stop the speeding rig.

A Boost to the Defense

Murphy considered it beneficial to his client's case that the 10 men and two women who will decide Costa's fate were able to hear about another runaway truck on Monday, nearly four weeks into the trial.

Seven months prior to Costa's 25-ton car-carrying big barreling out of control down the Crest onto Foothill Boulevard, a semi carrying 78,000 pounds of onions lost its brakes and plowed into cars in a parking lot near the same intersection.

"What's more relevant than this type of accident having happened before, minus the unfortunate deaths?'' Murphy asked outside the courtroom. Lugo has not commented about the case since she began prosecuting it.

Jury Could Get the Case Wednesday

Neither attorney anticipates caling anymore witnesses. The judge will read jury instructions before lunch and closing arguments are slated to start in the afternoon. Jurors could begin deliberating Wednesday.