Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2006 | 7:13 a.m.
The mother of a motorist who was killed nearly two years ago by an overweight garbage truck waited 20 months to erect a headstone at her daughter's grave site.
Angela Ipock first wanted the driver of the Republic Services truck to face a jury to bring closure to the ordeal, which she felt would then allow her daughter, Ashley Jean Swain, to rest in - and her loved ones to be at - peace.
But after the case against Richard C. Hall was continued in August - it was the eighth delay after the July 2005 arraignment - Swain's mother ordered a heart-shaped pink granite headstone installed at the Palm Mortuary-Jones cemetery to honor the former Chaparral High basketball player who died at age 19.
"Closure? I just want to see it (a trial) begin," said Ipock, 41, who for each scheduled hearing date has made a 63-mile trek from her home in Pahrump only to witness a postponement.
Hall's preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Dec. 6 - 20 days shy of the second anniversary of Swain's death - before North Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Stephen Dahl, who will determine if there is enough evidence to go to a jury trial in District Court.
On Dec. 26, 2004, Swain, a food runner at the MGM Grand's Rainforest Cafe, was stopped at a traffic light in her Chevrolet Suburban at the Cheyenne Avenue and Interstate 15 off-ramp about two miles from her North Las Vegas home.
Hall's 2001 Volvo garbage truck went out of control and overturned onto Swain's vehicle at 2:10 a.m., instantly killing Swain, the Nevada Highway Patrol said.
Hall, 35, allegedly was driving over the recommended speed limit, but below the maximum posted speed limit, when his truck tipped over.
After receiving reports from Highway Patrol investigators in March 2005, prosecutors debated for three months about the case and whether it could be won. In June the district attorney's office charged Hall with felony involuntary manslaughter and felony reckless driving.
Chief Deputy District Attorney James Miller says the case against Hall would be easier to prosecute if there was the option of charging him with misdemeanor manslaughter as well. But that law wasn't on the books at the time of the collision.
Swain became a face on the issue of overweight trucks in Southern Nevada. Her mother and father, Thomas Swain, have become vocal advocates for toughening Nevada's laws to ensure that big rigs on streets and highways are safe and drivers are better trained.
Ipock, a native Las Vegan who only recently began talking publicly about her daughter's death, also is critical of the slow-moving wheels of justice.
"You get so anxious every time a hearing is set and then you have to deal with the frustration that it is postponed time and time again," Ipock said. "The anxiety and anger just drain you.
"I just don't get why this is taking so long. The case of the woman on Xanax was resolved quicker."
Ipock was referring to Veronica Schmidt, who was not charged with a felony after crashing her vehicle into a Las Vegas bus stop, killing four people on March 14, 2005. Prosecutors said levels of the prescribed anti-depressant Xanax that were in her system were not elevated.
The incident, however, inspired the Nevada Legislature to pass the misdemeanor manslaughter law that went into effect Oct. 1, 2005.
A person found guilty under that law can serve up to six months in jail and pay a $1,000 fine. Hall, if convicted on the two felony counts, faces up to six years in prison and a maximum of $10,000 in fines.
Alan Buttell, Hall's attorney, says the district attorney's office has not offered his client misdemeanor manslaughter as a plea bargain and Buttell is not so certain they would take that deal if it were proposed.
"We believe the evidence will show conclusively that there was no illegal conduct on the part of Mr. Hall," Buttell said. "He did not break a rule or violate a statute. He was operating a vehicle in a lawful manner."
Buttell said that neither Hall nor Republic Services knew the truck was overweight by 18,000 pounds. Buttell said the trash container was "dangerously unstable" because someone had put water in it, which created a "motion like a tidal wave," resulting in the truck overturning.
The criminal complaint against Hall paints a much more menacing picture. It says Hall was driving in an "unlawful and criminally negligent manner" by speeding, driving the vehicle overweight, not paying full attention to his driving, failing to exercise due care, failing to maintain a travel lane and failure to pay attention to highway conditions.
Despite those assertions, Miller says his office has a tough road ahead.
"We have to establish that he (Hall) knew his truck was overweight. It's the crux of our case," Miller said, noting that his requests for continuances have focused on lining up more than 15 witnesses, some of whom are residents of other states.
"There is no sense going to court and losing. I need all of my witnesses available and ready to testify."
Buttell, who also has deposed a number of witnesses for this case, says there has been no effort by either side to unnecessarily delay the matter.
"Jim Miller and I have purposely engaged in a joint effort to determine a lot of factual matters that needed to be established to understand this case," he said. "The continuances have been by mutual agreement."
Hall no longer works for Republic, but his departure wasn't related to the Swain incident, according to his attorney and the company. Neither would elaborate on why Hall left.
Republic settled a civil suit filed by Swain's family for $1.94 million. According to court documents, the company paid $644,078 each to Ipock and Thomas Swain; $653,206, including $5,797 in costs, to the family's attorneys; and $1,077 to University Medical Center.
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