No sleep expert for Rt 3 car crash, says Culpeper County Attorney

Posted on Mar 17, 2010

Last March four people were killed on State Route 3 when they were struck by a driver traveling in the wrong lane as he headed towards Culpeper. The errant driver, Eugene T. Greene, slammed his Chevrolet Tahoe SUV into a Toyota Corolla containing five people.

Four of the Corolla’s occupants – Tianna Jones, Tyler Harlow, Joseph Sahnow and James Cook – were killed at the scene of the accident; one man survived with serious injuries. Police arrested Greene, who was charged with four felony counts of involuntary manslaughter, wounding in the commission of a felony and misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and operating an uninsured vehicle.

Greene pleaded not guilty to all the charges in December, and is currently free on bond while he waits for his May 4 trial in circuit court. The Culpeper County Commonwealth’s Attorney in the case asked for $20,000 and then $5,000 to hire a sleep expert to testify against Greene.

The expert would have spoken to the jury about the effects of sleep deprivation on a driver, as Green was allegedly awake for 20 straight hours before the crash, having only slept for six or seven hours in the previous 48 hours. This type of sleep deprivation can lead to serious driving mistakes, according to the Commonwealth’s Attorney.

However, Circuit Judge Jack Berry turned down the request for money to hire a sleep expert. The case against Green will move forward without expert testimony on sleep deprivation.