Jurors returned a guilty verdict against Gregory L. Lima on Friday for failure to yield the right of way resulting in death.
However, Lima escaped the more serious charge of reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon when jurors found him not guilty of that charge.
Lima will be sentenced for the Class C misdemeanor of failure to yield resulting in death on June 22 and he faces a maximum penalty of 11 months, 29 days in jail.
The case stems from a motor vehicle accident at the intersection of Old Smithville Highway and Smithville Highway on Aug. 28, 2014. Lima, driving a Saturn, failed to stop at the intersection and entered the path of an oncoming Ford F-250 driven by Jordan Clark. Fatally injured was Lima’s passenger and uncle, Leon Carter.
Outlining the state’s case to the jury was prosecutor Felicia Walkup, who says Lima’s actions that morning were reckless and she asked the jury to find him guilty.
“There is no question in this case Mr. Lima had the responsibility to yield and he did not,” Walkup said.
Walkup reminded the jury they heard from three independent witnesses and heard testimony that “the roadway was fine,” “visibility was fine,” “it was close to daylight,” and “everyone had their headlights on.” The three witnesses all saw the red car driven by Lima, 26 at the time, approaching the intersection.
“Each of the three independent witnesses stated essentially the same thing,” said Walkup. “They all knew Mr. Lima had the responsibility to stop.”
Witnesses described the Lima vehicle as “flying” and one witness said she took evasive action to avoid being in the crash.
Clark, who was involved in the wreck as the driver of the other vehicle, testified that it looked like Lima was trying to beat him through the intersection.
Defense attorney Larry Bryant showed the jury a picture of the intersection as it appeared that day from a visual perspective of Lima as he approached.
“Maybe you can read that,” he said referring to the stop sign. “I cannot. All I barely make out is red across the top and what appears to be a very faint “S” to the left. The rest of the letters aren’t visible.”
Bryant provided the jury with a second picture of the intersection taken “sometime after the accident.” The stop sign had been replaced and was clearly visible.
“If that stop sign was up to snuff, why change it?” asked Bryant.
Lima relocated to Van Buren County from Michigan. Bryant reminded the jury that Lima is not a Warren County resident and unlike the witnesses who are, he did not have prior knowledge of the stop sign and its condition.
“We know, and it is undisputed, Mr. Lima was on that road for the first time in his life,” said Bryant. “Witnesses knew he was supposed to stop because they’ve driven that road all their life. This case is not about what the witnesses knew but about what Mr. Lima knew. In his own words, Mr. Lima stated, ‘When I recognized it as a stop sign, I tried to stop.’ Was it Lima’s actions or the inactions of the county for the quality of that stop sign that led to this unfortunate accident?”
Bryant hinted that the charges against Lima were backlash from him filing a civil lawsuit against Warren County for poor stop sign visibility.
“This accident happened on Aug. 28, 2014. There were no charges brought against my client at that time,” said Bryant. “On Jan. 2, 2015, alcohol and drug test results from the TBI came back. No alcohol. There was some medication to regulate heart rate, but no illegal narcotics in his system. Still, no charges were filed. On March 16, 2015, Mr. Lima files a civil suit and on May 7, he’s charged. That’s eight months after the accident, but only six or seven weeks after the civil suit. Why was that? It’s up to you to determine.”
