Alexander

As I've read our coverage of the Ron Wendt manslaughter trial, I've thought a couple of times it would be useful to see the scene of the accident, what the roadway is like, where buildings are located. 

To help with some perspective are four pictures from the scene. Note, to avoid any visual warping of perspective, I did not use telephoto settings on my lens. I did use a wide-angle setting from the porch of My Saloon.

Top picture is looking east on Route 20/Broadway from the low point of the road, less than 100 yards from the driveway of My Saloon (just past the Route 354 turn sign on the right).

For a bigger version of this picture, click here.

The trial resumes this afternoon.

More pictures after the jump:

Still looking east, but further up the road, where the speed limit changes to 40 mph.  Bigger picture.

The view looking west, the direction Ron Wendt was traveling. Bigger version.

The view from the front porch of My Saloon -- the vantage point of Amanda McClellan, who said she observed Wendt's truck going from 30 mph to 40 mph, and didn't apparently slow before trying to make the turn into the driveway.  The driveway is about four feet to the left of this picture. While McClellan couldn't have seen far up the road, to stand on the porch and watch cars go by gives a different perspective on just how much she could have seen.

Tim Wescott has spent 10 of his 12 years with the Genesee County Sheriff's Department on road patrol. It is a job he has trained extensively for and kept up to date on.

Under questioning from District Attorney Lawrence Friedman, Wescott told jurors in the Ronald J. Wendt II trial Wednesday afternoon, that he has taken courses at three different community colleges on how to conduct driver field sobriety tests and use the equipment to do so.

And yet despite the possibility that Wendt, too, may have been injured in the accident, though not obviously so -- perhaps he hit his head or tweaked his neck or back -- the deputy did not ask Wendt how he was or if he was injured.

Under cross-examination from defense Attorney Thomas Burns, Wescott testified that he wasted no time in performing field sobriety tests, which Wendt performed poorly.

Burns asked Wescott if his education included any medical training with regard to head trauma and concussions. He asked if he had learned about the possible effects of back or head injuries on tests for balance, coordination and mental functioning. No, Wescott said.

Burns asked if he was taught to ask about possible injuries before conducting sobriety tests.

"I don't know if I'm required to ask him," Wescott said. "I didn't."

Wescott testified that he was the first law enforcement officer to arrive at the accident scene on Aug. 14, 2009, in front of My Saloon on Broadway Road in Darien. That was at 11:13 p.m. -- four minutes after the first 9-1-1 call was received by dispatch (11:08 p.m.) and relayed to the officer at 11:09 p.m.

He estimated he conducted the intox tests on Wendt about 10 minutes after arrival and arrested him for DWI at 11:37.

The first thing Wescott noticed when he arrived at the crash was three damaged vehicles, Wendt's maroon pickup, Rachel Enderle's Toyota Camry, and a black truck that was parked in the lot. The Camry and Wendt's truck had both spun around as a result the impact of the crash.

Mercy EMS had one subject in an ambulance, a man in the roadway being worked on by medics, and he saw two women involved in the accident walking around. It was choatic, with bar patrons and others milling around, too.

Wescott said he spoke briefly with Rachel, the driver of the Toyota who struck Wendt's truck when he pulled in front of her as he made a left-hand turn into the My Saloon parking lot. He said there was no indication she had been drinking.

He was trying to get information about Wendt's truck, which was missing a front license plate, when Wendt approached him and said "I'm the one you're looking for."

Wendt told the officer he had come from a residence in Attica, was stopping for one (beer) and "thought he had time to turn."

"He had bloodshot, glassy eyes, some slurred speach and the odor of alcohol on his breath," the deputy said, who then asked if he'd been drinking.

Wendt said he had a few beers and then added "You might as well have me blow and take me to jail." The deputy said he'd rather have him do field sobriety tests.

The officer then detailed the standard tests given and what are called "clues" as to the person's inebriation. No single test can conclusively determine if a person is intoxicated, he noted. But Wendt did not pass any test "cluelessly."

Wendt told the officer he'd had four or five beers throughout the day while baling hay with a friend and had drank his last one about 15 minutes before the accident, which killed Rachel's back-seat passenger, 18-year-old Katie Stanley, of Dansville.

"He said he was slowing down, with his turn-signal on, and thought he had time to make the turn but said he guessed he didn't," Wescott said.

At the scene, it was determined that Wendt had no registration for his pickup, no current inspection sticker, his plate had been "voluntarily surrendered," and his only ID was an expired motorcycle driver's license.

After he was arrested and taken to jail, his picture was taken and it was shown to the jury yesterday. He looked slightly sunburned, unshaven, with reddish, tired-looking eyes. After being read his Miranda warnings and being interviewed by Wescott, he signed a voluntary statement about the accident at 1:13 a.m. Wescott said his demeanor, sobriety, or lack thereof, had not changed from his first encounter with him.

In other testimony Wednesday, Sheriff's Investigator Steve Mullen explained to jurors how a video recreating the moments leading up to the accident was made. They were not shown the video, however. One was made in daylight, another at night, earlier this year.

A key point was determining how far one can see cars coming down Route 20 eastbound from the roadway in front of My Saloon. Wendt had been heading westbound. It was estimated that one could see "several hundred yards" up the road, which then dips down at midway at the cemetery before rising, making cars visible again.

The speed limit goes from 55 to 40 east of the cemetery. In making the video, the eastbound driver was instructed to go 55 then take his foot off the gas pedal and start to brake at the 40 mph sign. The driver reached a speed of 45 mph by the time he got to My Saloon. How fast Rachel was driving is one of the points of contention in the case.

The other person who took the stand Wednesday was Rachel's cousin, Tim Enderle. Heavyset, 22, and a resident of North Chili, he testified that he, Rachel, Katie and Gabby Mahus had left a concert at Darien Lake early to avoid rowdy crowds. He was the front-seat passenger. They were on Route 20 heading to Rachel's house in Dansville.

"I noticed headlights up ahead, I try to notice everything, I think that's my responsibility as a passenger," Tim said. "I noticed the headlights shook a little bit -- as though somebody was deciding whether to turn."

He said he thought the truck was going "at a pretty high rate of speed and it sort of veered into the parking lot. He said Rachel was staying in her lane, looking ahead and was in no way distracted.

"I barely had time to put my arm up on the dashboard, I guess it was less than a car length in front of us," Tim said. "I took a deep breath. The crash was instantaneous. I could barely breathe. I smelled smoke, it was horrible."

Tim's window was rolled up and his door was jammed shut afterward. He said he looked at the others in the car and noticed Rachel and Gabby were OK, but Katie was not and blood was coming out of her nose area. When they were able to get him out of the vehicle, he tried to stand but felt an excruciating pain in his leg and fell to the ground.

He saw Katie on a guerney being taken to the ambulance.

"I noticed her arm was dangling down," he said. "I reached up and put it on her stomach."

He was taken to UMMC, then to Strong where underwent surgery on his leg and hip and spent weeks and weeks in rehab. He suffered a dislocated hip, two fractured vertabrae and his "femural head was driven up into his leg." Afterward, he spent months at home in a wheelchair, then a walker. He still has terrible pain, including while he was testifying, he said.

In the three or four hours before the accident in Darien that took the life of a Dansville girl, Ronald J. Wendt may have drank as many as six beers, a longtime friend of his testified today.

Thirty-five-year-old William D. Marchisin, who says he's known Wendt for a number of years, was called by District Attorney Lawrence Friedman to testify about what he and Wendt did in the hours leading up to the Aug. 14, 2009 accident.

The day started at 11 a.m. at Marchisin's house and included a pizza lunch at about 1 p.m. The two men then went to a neighbor's barn to remove a grain bin and then spent the next several hours baling hay.

According to Marchisin, Wendt brought along a cooler that contained six Arizona Ice Teas and six beers. The two men drank three beers apiece before leaving the field, then at two more at the VFW Hall in Alexander, and then one more in Attica while waiting for their wings to be cooked at a pizza shop  there.

Under cross examination by Wendt's defense attorney, Thomas Burns, it came out that Marchisin has given different versions of the events that day.

In one interview with investigators, he even lied under oath -- he admitted this in court today -- about even being at the accident scene. 

In his first interview with investigator William Ferrando, Marchisin said that Wendt dropped him off at home before Wendt drove to My Saloon (the accident occurred in front of the bar on Broadway Road in Darien). A few minutes later, Marchisin gave a new sworn statement saying that he was in the truck when it was struck by a car driven by Rachel Enderle.

Marchisin said he was scared during the Aug. 18 meeting with Ferrando, which is why he lied.

As for when he and Wendt had their first beer, Marchisin has given different time lines. In Grand Jury testimony, he said 7 p.m. Today, he said under direct examination that it was 8 p.m., but later testified that it might have been 15 or 20 minutes after 7 p.m.

Marchisin also admitted that he left the scene of the accident as soon as ambulances arrived.

He described the post-accident scene as chaos, with people yelling and screaming, and bar patrons mobbing the scene, bringing out drinks, including beer bottles, and setting them on the car and truck.

"I stood there on the curb," Marchisin said. "I stood there and I don’t want to say 'awed,' but dazzled, and I considered the scene secured, I guess, and I told Ron, 'I can’t handle it anymore,' and I walked home."

Marchisin lives about a mile from where the accident occurred.

Wendt's friend did not testify about the accident itself and may be called back to the stand on another day to testify about what he saw and heard.

First on the stand today was Ferrando, who photographed the accident scene and authenticated the pictures as evidence.

Among the pictures, are two that show a LaBatt's Blue beer box in Wendt's pickup bed and what appeared to be a Blue beer can on the ground next to the truck.

Also on the stand for a brief time was Gabby Mahus, who was a passenger, sitting behind the driver, in the car that hit Wendt's truck.

She broke down when describing the accident scene and Katie Stanley being taken from the car, apparently not breathing. Judge Robert Noonan authorized a short recess so she compose herself, but Friedman had only two more questions for her when she came back.

We'll have coverage of the afternoon testimony later.

On a clear night, on a straight road, at a time when none of the four people in her car were talking, cell phones weren't being used and the radio wasn't on, Rachel L. Enderle, with her hands on the wheel and her eyes straight ahead, didn't see Ronald J. Wendt's truck until a second before her Toyota Camry hit it.

Wendt, on trial for manslaughter and reckless driving, is accused of turning left on Route 20 at the location of My Saloon in Darien Center, right in front of 27-year-old Enderle's car.

Enderle's Camry plowed into the side of the Dodge Ram truck, and Enderle apparently neither hit her brakes nor swerved to avoid the accident.

Katie Stanley, 18, died as a result of the accident. She was a passenger in Enderle's car.

Alexander resident Wendt, 25, could serve up to 25 years in prison if convicted by the 12-person jury of aggravated reckless driving.

Enderle testified today that she wasn't distracted in any way prior to the accident, though she was probably going 55 mph in the 40 mph zone. The Dansville resident testified that she didn't see the lower speed limit signs when driving into the hamlet.

The only thing she remembers is seeing the maroon passenger side door of Wendt's truck just before hitting it.

"I didn't know where it came from," Enderle said.

She said she had no time to react.

"In my head and my heart, I do feel like I got my foot on the brake," Enderle said."I don’t know if pushed down on it."

While another witness testified that Wendt had his headlights on, Enderle said she didn't see the headlights of his truck approaching from the east. 

Two of the three witnesses who testified today could not recall with certainty whether Wendt used his turn signal.

Another witness, Amanda McClellan, who was standing on the recessed porch of My Saloon, and couldn't possibly have had a clear view of Wendt's truck as it approached the spot of the accident, said Wendt didn't have his turn signal on.

While Enderle said she had no time to react, another driver, Brian C. Fox, of Portageville, said he was two or three seconds behind Enderle's Toyota, managed to slam on the brakes of his pickup truck and stop five feet short of the collision.

Fox said he saw Wendt's truck -- with headlights on -- down the road before Wendt started his turn, but said Wendt turned quickly right in front of Enderle's car.

Asked by District Attorney Lawrence Friedman his opinion on whether the driver of the Toyota could possibly have had time to react, Fox said,  "There was nothing they could do."

Speed, of course, is an important factor in reaction time. 

Both Fox and Enderle testified that they couldn't say for sure how fast they were going, but there were driving with the flow of traffic.

Evidence indicates that Fox told investigators after the accident that he was going 55 mph. Today, Fox testified that he said he was going 55 because he thought that was the speed limit on that stretch of Broadway Road.

Today, he initially testified that he must have been going between 45 mph and 55 mph.

At a DMV hearing some months ago, Fox testified that he may have been going as fast as 60 mph.

McClellan testified that she thought Enderle was traveling at about the speed limit, or 40 mph. She estimated Wendt's speed to be between 30 and 40 mph as he went into the turn into the parking lot, though she admitted she didn't hear his tires squeal or see his truck fishtail.

Both Enderle and McClellan testified that beer cans and bottles flew from the bed of Wendt's truck at the time of impact. McClellan said there were as many as 20 beer containers on the ground near the accident scene. 

"A man had said let’s get these cans and bottles out of here before the cops get here," Enderle said.

Testimony in the Wendt trial resumes in the morning.

When court adjourned Monday night, there were 12 jurors sworn for the manslaughter trial of Ronald J. Wendt.

Now there are 11.

A juror was excused this morning for medical reasons.

About a dozen people from the original jury pool entered the court room today expecting to go through the interview process for the alternate jury seats, but now one of them will fill the 12th seat.

Then another juror sent a long note to Judge Robert C. Noonan this morning raising a number of concerns that he said came up over night related to his job. The juror also apparently discussed his situation with another juror.

After interviewing the juror who wrote the note, Noonan declined to dismiss him from service, saying that under New York statutes, once a juror is sworn the bar for removing a person from the jury becomes much higher.

Opening arguments in the case once all 12 jurors and alternates are seated.

By 6 p.m. today, the 12 jurors were picked who will decide the guilt or not of Ronald J. Wendt, accused of manslaughter, DWI and reckless driving in an accident that took the life of an 18-year-old Dansville girl.

In the morning, Tuesday, court will convene to select alternate jurors, with opening arguments to begin later in the day.

After the jury was picked, and the jurors and prospective alternates left, Judge Robert Noonan ruled that District Attorney Lawrence Friedman will not be allowed to use a PowerPoint presentation as part of his opening statement.

Noonan said there was no case law he could find allowing PowerPoint to be used in the opening summation, though there is case law to support its use in closing. Noonan said he would change his ruling if Friedman could find a prior ruling allowing its use.

Every few years a case comes along that the national media hypes as “The Trial of the Century.”

Jurors are being chosen today in Genesee County Court for what may not even be the local trial of the year – that label might better be applied to the Scott Doll murder case – but for Ronald J. Wendt, it's his trial of a lifetime.

He is charged with 11 felony counts stemming from a fatal automobile accident on Aug. 12, 2009, including aggravated vehicular manslaughter. The charge alleges more than just drinking-and-driving. The indictment contends that Wendt drove recklessly, causing an accident that took the life of another person.

If convicted of all charges against him, and given the maximum sentence, the 25-year-old Alexander resident would be older, by the time he's released from prison, than 60 percent of the people reading this article are today.

The charge carries a maximum 25-year sentence.

But Katie Stanley had her entire adult life ahead of her. The Dansville resident was just 18 when she was killed on Route 20 in Darien that summer day.

One of the key issues in the trial will be -- was Wendt really responsible for her death?

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman will try to establish: that Wendt was legally impaired by alcohol at the time of the accident; that he was reckless when he made a left-hand turn into oncoming traffic in order to pull into the parking lot of My Saloon; and that his actions are a direct cause of Stanley's death.

Defense Attorney Thomas Burns will try to prove that Wendt was not over the legal limit at the time of the accident. He will argue that a .08 BAC recorded in a test more than an hour after the accident, represents a slight elevation in his BAC from his last drink, but not his BAC at the time of the accident.

Wendt reportedly recorded a .07 in a breath test at the scene. Field breath tests, however, are not admissible as evidence at trial, by either side. 

Wendt, who was helping a friend bale hay that day, has said he drank his last beer about 15 minutes before the accident. That drink may not have made it into his system at the time of the accident, but could have shown up in the later BAC test.

Also at issue are the actions of the other driver Rachel L. Enderle, 27. There were reportedly no skid marks at the scene, and prior to trial, it's not been publicly established how fast the car was going at the time of the accident. 

The spot of the accident is an area in Darien Center that is posted 40 mph along a stretch of Route 20 that is otherwise 55 mph.

Enderle along with Wendt was named in a lawsuit filed in Rochester earlier this year by Timothy L. Enderle, who was also a passenger in Rachel's car.

"Any time there are two cars in an accident, there is a certain percentage of fault with both drivers," said Timothy's attorney, Sheldon W. Boyce.

The key question in this trial is to what degree, if any, is Ronald J. Wendt at fault? And if found at fault to any degree, how much of his life should he be forced to give up?

For previous coverage, click here.

The annual Alexander Steam Show was another big hit this year, with people coming from all over the region for tractor pulls, a flea market, displays, antique farm equipment and -- above -- steamed sweet corn.

The corn was cooked using an old steam engine, dumped on a table and then people could dive in, grab as many ears as they could, butter it up and salt it.

Let's just say, it was good.

More pictures after the jump:

Drive a bit down Route 98 toward Alexander and you'll spot this former school bus for sale loaded up with round bales of hay.

Dylan Bordinaro was all over the field Saturday, making tackles, picking off passes and rushing for 85 yards.

The senior linebacker/running back scored two touchdowns and was a big part of Elba/Byron-Bergen's 35-0 victory over Alexander.

“This off-season, right at the end of the school year, he asked, 'What do I need to do to get better?'" said Head Coach Michael Cintorino. "We said, 'You’ve got the ability, you’ve just got to go hard every single play.'"

That's exactly what Bordinaro has done so far this season.

"He never wants to come out of the game," Cintorino said. "And it doesn’t matter if it’s practice, doesn’t matter if it's warm ups, doesn’t matter if it's agilities, doesn’t matter if it’s game day – he’s got one speed and that’s all he goes."

On the Trojan's side of the ball, injuries are making it a tough early fall in Alexander. After seeing at least two more players go down Saturday, Head Coach Dave Radley said it may be time to drop the JV program and bring those players into varsity to fill roster spots.

"It's back to the drawing board," Radley said.

For the Lancers (2-0), Eric Kowalik passed for 109 yards and completed five of 12 passes. Brandon Shucknecthad seven tackles and one sack.

Lucas Phillips ran for 57 yards  on 19 carries for Alexander (0-2).

Scores:

E-Dylan Bordinaro 42-yard interception
E-Bordinaro 29-yard run
E-Bordinaro 45-yard interception
E-Matt Ramsey 86-yard pass from Eric Kowalik
E-Bordinaro 9-yard run

Photos: Top, Elba/BB QB Eric Kowalik is leg tackled by Quinn Jared. Below, Matt Ramsey making the reception for his 86-yard TD catch.

More pictures after the jump:

James C. Oehler, 18, of Route 19, Bergen, is accused of possession of stolen property, 5th. At 9:16 p.m., Sunday, Oehler was allegedly found in possession of a dirt bike that was reported stolen from a residence in the Village of Bergen on July 25.

James Anthony Marchegiano, 22, of Westside Drive, Chili, is charged with a DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle. Marchegiano was stopped at 11:36 p.m., Friday, on Sumner Road by Deputy Chad Minuto. Marchegiano was allegedly observed driving his car in an erratic manner in the parking lot following the Rascal Flatts concert at Darien Lake.

Grant Arnold Sundown, 46, of Skye Road, Tonawanda Indian Reservation, is charged with criminal mischief. Sundown allegedly punched another person in the head. When that person attempted to call 9-1-1, Sundown allegedly ripped the phone line from the wall while the caller was on the phone with Genesee County Emergency Dispatch.

Steven James Scott, 19, of Ford Road, Elba, is charged with trespass and unlawful possession of alcohol by a person under 21. Scott was allegedly on the property of College Village at 12:52 a.m., Friday, without permission.

Narciso Gullen, 36, of Route 98, Elba, is charged with possession of a forged instrument, 2nd. Gullen allegedly tried to use a forged federally issued residency card. He was jailed on $10,000 bail.

Richard Anthony Orlando, 31, of Cable Street, Buffalo, is charged with criminal mischief and unlawful possession of marijuana. At 12:30 a.m., Sunday, deputies responded to a report of a verbal domestic incident at a campsite in Alexander. Orlando allegedly smashed a television set and a fan and turned over a refrigerator. Orlando was jailed on $150 bail.

Joseph Aaron Monkelbaan, 38, of Pratt Road, Batavia, is charged with trespass. Monkelbaan is accused of going onto a neighbor's property at 7:21 p.m., Friday, without permission and causing a disturbance.

Kevin A. Hutzler, 21, of Darien, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and failure to keep right. Hutzler was stopped by State Police at 8:41 p.m., Thursday, on Colby Road.

Anthony R. Cogdill, 40, of Darien, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Cogdill was stopped by State Police at 9:23 p.m., Thursday, Harper Road, Alexander.

Richard J. Rookey, 77, of Batavia, is charged with DWI, aggravated DWI and moving from lane unsafely. Rookey was stopped by State Police 8:14 p.m., Wednesday, on Clinton Street and East Avenue.

James V. Wells, 25, of Batavia, is charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct/obscene gestures. Wells was arrested by State Police at 12:24 a.m., Wednesday at College Village. No further details were released.

After learning to sew only a year ago, and despite being derailed by a car accident, an Alexander girl won third place and $5,000 cash in a national sewing competition.

The sponsor, Jo-Ann Fabrics & Crafts, announced the winners earlier this month.

Grace Raines, the daughter of Eric and Heidi Raines, was one of more than 112,000 applicants in the prom-outfit contest. Her prize was $5,000 cash and a $250 Jo-Ann store gift card.

"Well, to be honest, I was a little disappointed because I spent a lot of time on it," Grace said. "I thought I would get first place. But I'm proud."

She's also bright, ambitious and more than a little talented. The newly minted grad of Alexander High School is attending Genesee Community College this fall with plans on earning a degree in business.

"I've always known I wanted to be in business for myself," she said.

Her motivation and competitiveness can serve her well. They certainly did in this case.

"I love contests, I've always loved contests," Grace said.

The whole thing started when Grace went to the fabric store with her mother about a year ago to get some cloth for a crazy quilt. The clerk put a brochure about the prom-outfit sewing contest in the bag.

Watching her mom sew inspired her to try it and soon she was making crazy-quilt pillows and working on a design for the contest. She hit upon an "oceanic/mermaid theme," using colors she loves like aqua, orange, pink and deep blue.

While driving to her grandparents' house in January to show them her design, she got into a car accident. Although not seriously injured, the incident spooked her and sidelined her from sewing temporarily.

"I associated the accident with the project," she says in hindsight.

But with a July deadline fixed ahead, she gained new momentum and spent countless hours perfecting the dress and a neckless to go with it.

The design features a ruched top, shaped like two seashells, made of orange silk. The midriff is a sparkling, intricately beaded triangle. The lower part of the dress is crazy-quilt style, made up of 24 different expensive types of brocades, jacquards, satins, etc. The top of the back is "all bright and glittery," made of sheer, mesh-like fabric, decorated with Swarovski Crystals.

Predictably, putting in the zipper was the toughest part.

She also designed the necklace she wore to the prom with the gown. It's made of hand-crocheted gold wire, with orange, aqua and pink beads, and a fish-shaped pendant dangling in the middle.

Total cost of the outfit was about $400, though she admits she bought more materials than she ended up needing.

Grace says she's set for college, so she plans to use her winnings to one day establish a business of her own. But she's already an entrepreneur, cleaning house for a regular clientele of 10 and counting.