Crime & Safety

Marine Manslaughter Trial Gets Underway

The jury heard opening statements and testimony in the alleged DUI accident that killed a Marine.

By Paul Anderson, City News Service:

Following a night of drinking with three Marine buddies, a lance corporal then stationed at Camp Pendleton got behind the wheel of his Mustang and crashed the car into a tree in San Clemente with such force that it split the vehicle in half and killed one of the Marines, a prosecutor told jurors today.

Andrew Stueber, who has since been honorably discharged from the military, is on trial on a charge of felony gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated with sentencing enhancement allegations for causing bodily injury to two other victims.

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Stueber's defense attorney, Rob Harley, told jurors that experts will testify during the two-week trial that his client was not drunk at the time of the collision and that the crash was an accident.

Stueber was stationed at Camp Pendleton when he crashed a Ford Mustang just after 2 a.m. on Aug. 1, 2009, killing 22-year-old Edmund Vandecasteele and injuring Robert Nichols, who was 22, and Kyle Nance, who was 21, prosecutors said.

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Stueber and other Marines in his platoon started the day of the collision helping another Marine based at Camp Pendleton move to a new apartment in Oceanside July 31, 2009, Nance testified. They ate pizza in the afternoon as they packed up, but did not eat again until they went through a McDonald's drive-through just before the crash, Nance testified. When they finished the move the four decided to go drinking at Goody's Tavern in San Clemente, with Stueber agreeing to be the designated driver, Nance testified.

Stueber poured himself a beer when they ordered a pitcher, arousing concern from Nance, he testified.

"I said, 'If you're going to drink, that's fine, just let us know so we can get a cab,' '' Nance testified. "He said he would be fine,'' and Stueber agreed to not drink again for the night, Nance told the jury.

Stueber spent most of the evening sending text messages and calling his girlfriend in Virginia and accepted a few free drinks from customers honoring his military service, Harley said.

Nance testified he was "pretty intoxicated'' when the four closed down the bar and walked back to the Mustang, so he did not have a clear memory of everything that happened before the crash.

Nance recalled Nichols asked Stueber if he was OK to drive, and since Nance couldn't hear his reply he asked the same question. "He said he was OK to drive,'' Nance testified.

The Marines had "Arrive Alive'' cards issued to them that they could have used to get a taxi ride home even if they had no money, but they got into the car with Stueber behind the wheel, Nance testified.

Harley said the evidence will show Stueber's driving was fine as he got on the Santa Ana (5) Freeway, got off, picked up food at McDonald's and then drove to Nichols' apartment on Avenida Vista Montana. Stueber missed the entrance to Nichols' apartment complex and had to make a U-turn.

Deputy District Attorney Nancy Hayashida contended the evidence will show Stueber spun the car around so quickly that it left skid marks and that he accelerated downhill back to the apartment building. The maximum speed was 57 mph, and the car was going 27 to 33 mph when it slammed into a tree, shearing it in half, the prosecutor added.

"I got pushed back in my seat'' the car was moving so fast, said Nance, who was in the backseat behind Stueber.

"I said, 'Slow down,' '' Nance said, adding he shouted to Stueber over the roar of the engine. "I grabbed the seat to pull myself up to say it... It didn't feel right. I didn't feel safe.''

Nance remembers blacking out momentarily following the collision.

"I woke up took my first breath and yelled an obscenity,'' Nance testified. He used his military training to administer first aid to Vandecasteele, who had been in the front passenger seat, while Nichols tried to help Stueber, who was, "knocked out cold, snoring.''

Harley said Stueber spent a month and a half in the hospital and almost died. Nichols and Nance suffered minor injuries, Hayashida said. A blood test at the hospital about 50 minutes following the collision showed Stueber had a blood-alcohol level of .12 percent, over the legal limit of .08 percent, Hayashida said. A different test meeting standards so the evidence can be used in court was done about 4 a.m. and it showed his blood-alcohol level was .097 percent to .099 percent, Hayshida said.

Harley said defense experts will testify that the first blood test is not reliable evidence and that another test taken later showed Stueber's blood- alcohol level was .06. There's no evidence to prove Stueber was drunk at the time of the collision, Harley said.

Nichols turned up the car's radio to a high volume because his favorite song came on and someone spilled a drink just before the collision, which distracted Stueber, Harley said.

"No matter how tragic this is, it's still an accident,'' Harley said.


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