Defense expert: Dettloff may not have caused crash

Kim Smith

Tuesday, March 12, 2002 | 9:42 a.m.

An accident reconstructionist told jurors Monday there is a chance that James Barton, and not Mitchell Dettloff, caused the accident last year that claimed the lives of Barton's wife and son and another man.

Dettloff, a 36-year-old former restaurant manager, faces four counts each of leaving the scene of an accident and reckless driving and three counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Robert Roller, a former Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper and instructor, discounted the testimony of a Nevada trooper who said there was no way Barton could have cut in front of Dettloff's vehicle on April 22.

Roller was the last witness to testify on Dettloff's behalf, and jurors were scheduled to hear the testimony from a rebuttal witness this morning.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker alleges that as Dettloff merged onto southbound U.S. 95 from Ann Road he clipped the right front end of a Ford pickup, which was carrying members of the Barton family. The pickup was forced across the dirt median and into the path of Brian Cooper, who was driving northbound, Booker said.

Holly Barton, 33, and Benjamin Barton, 8, were thrown from the vehicle and killed. Cooper, 30, also was killed. James Barton was critically injured but recovered.

Dettloff testified Friday that he had no idea that the crash was so serious. He said he felt a bump and left the scene when he didn't see anyone stopped along the highway afterward.

Dettloff was arrested three days after the crash.

Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Jon David testified last week that the physical evidence at the scene proves Barton could not have cut in front of Dettloff, causing the accident.

Roller, however, testified that David used faulty information in working out his mathematical formulas. He also faulted David for failing to take certain photos of the accident scene and over-estimating Dettloff's speed at the time of the wreck.

Also testifying Monday was Reno psychiatrist Thomas Bittker, who said the seriousness of Dettloff's panic attacks in the days after the crash indicates he truly did not realize the extent of the accident.

Bittker also said Dettloff's personality is such that he takes his responsibilities seriously and would have stopped at the scene had he known the nature of the crash.

Leaving the scene of the accident carries the harshest sentence -- two to 15 years in prison per count.