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Belew v. Nelson12/16/2005
to determine the angles of automobiles at impact based on the physical evidence at the scene of an accident is the type of knowledge that an ordinary layperson possesses. Thus, we find that the rule in White is not applicable here. Cf. Dyer v. Traeger, 357 So. 2d 328, 329-30 (Ala. 1978) (investigating officer allowed to offer expert testimony regarding point of impact of vehicles in accident).
Belew next discusses our Supreme Court's decision in McWhorter v. Clark, 342 So. 2d 903 (Ala. 1977), and argues that McWhorter, in which the Supreme Court held that the trial court should have excluded certain expert testimony from an officer, "is not dissimilar to the case at bar." We conclude that McWhorter is, in fact, dissimilar to the present case.
In McWhorter, our Supreme Court reversed the trial court's judgment based on its failure to exclude expert testimony from an officer regarding the speed that two vehicles had been traveling before a crash. McWhorter, 342 So. 2d at 904. The Court pointed out that the rule in Alabama is that an expert may testify regarding the estimated speed of vehicles based on the distance that their tires skidded before the impact; however, the testimony cannot be based on evidence related to how far the vehicles traveled after the impact. Id. (citing Maslankowski v. Beam, 288 Ala. 254, 259 So. 2d 804 (1972)). Noting that the officer's testimony "was based entirely on the distance between the point of impact and the distance to the car after it came to a halt," the Court held that the inclusion of the officer's testimony violated the above-cited rule and was therefore improper. 342 So. 2d at 904.
Belew asserts that the Supreme Court rejected the officer's testimony in McWhorter because his testimony was based on "impermissible inferences," which, she argues, is similar to the testimony of Trooper Jones because Trooper Jones "was not even sure that the marks were left by the McKelvey vehicle." As noted above, however, the Supreme Court rejected the officer's testimony in McWhorter because it violated the rule that experts cannot opine as to the speed of a vehicle before an accident on the basis of where the vehicle comes to rest after an accident, not because the officer expressed uncertainty with regard to the physical evidence at the scene of the wreck. Second, and more importantly, Trooper Jones never indicated any uncertainty in his testimony as to the location of the yaw marks that the McKelveys' car left on the pavement before the accident. Although Belew's attorney attacked the credibility and reliability of Trooper Jones's testimony in this regard, Trooper Jones never indicated that he was uncertain about the location of the yaw marks or about the fact that the McKelveys' vehicle left the yaw marks that he testified were in both of the lanes of travel. Thus, Belew's reliance on McWhorter is misplaced.
Belew argues that Trooper Jones reached his conclusion that the McKelveys' car was in Nelson's lane before the accident despite the fact that the accident occurred on the McKelveys' side of the road, and despite the fact that there was not "a single skid mark or mark made by McKelvey on Nelson's side of the road." "In fact," Belew asserts, "not a single piece of physical evidence at the scene would have permitted an expert, short of a bona fide accident reconstructionist, to opine that the McKelvey vehicle was on Nelson's side of the road."
We cannot agree with Belew's recitation of the evidence. Trooper Jones testified that the McKelveys' car left a yaw mark that began in Nelson's lane of traffic, crossed the center line dividing the lanes, and finished in the McKelveys' lane of traffic. Trooper Jones further explained what
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