Acquittal in Drunk Driving Case

A man who was put on trial for allowing a friend to drive drunk, leading to a fatal crash, was acquitted of manslaughter Friday by jurors, but they were unable to reach a verdict on lesser charges.

After three days of deliberations, jurors said they were hopelessly deadlocked on vehicular homicide and aggravated assault by automobile charges against Kenneth Powell. But Superior Court Judge William L. Forester declared a mistrial on all three counts despite the jury's findings.

A prosecutor said he plans to try Powell again on the two counts in which the jurors deadlocked. A new trial was set for Jan. 6.

Powell is charged in the July 22, 2000, crash that killed his friend, Michael Pangle, and U.S. Navy Ensign John R. Elliott.

When the verdicts were announced, the victim's father, William Elliott, sitting in the front row with his wife Muriel and daughter Jennifer, hung his head solemnly. Powell seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as he sat at the defense table.

"Our pledge is to never have this happen to any family. Our pledge is to our son. No one should have to suffer a loss like we have had to suffer," Muriel Elliott said outside the courthouse.

Powell, who remains free on $50,000 bail, did not comment afterward. His attorney, Christopher Manganello, said he was under a gag order issued by the judge.

"If the Salem County prosecutor decides to try this case again, they will be in for the biggest fight of their lives," Manganello said.

The case drew national attention because it marked the first time a third party with no direct involvement in a drunken driving crash was charged criminally for it.

Powell, a 40-year-old laborer, was called at home to pick up Pangle at a state police station after Pangle's arrest for DUI. He drove Pangle back to his 1987 Chevrolet Blazer, which was left at the site of the arrest.

Less than an hour later, Pangle crossed the center line on rural U.S. 40, colliding head-on with Elliott's car.

Pangle, who had a .21 blood alcohol level when he was arrested, had a .26 BAC when he died.

Powell's attorneys had argued that he shouldn't be held responsible for the crash because he didn't own or operate the vehicle. Also, state police released Pangle and returned his car keys to him before giving the two directions to get back to it from the police station, Manganello argued.

But Assistant Salem County Prosecutor Michael Ostrowski argued that Powell made a series of conscious decisions that led to the deaths.

Calling Pangle "a boisterous, obnoxious loudmouth with his stinking breath," Ostrowski said any reasonable person would have known not to return him to his vehicle in that condition.

Experts say the prosecution of Powell is a potentially precedent-setting move that could open other third parties to prosecution for failing to stop drunks from driving.

The case has already broken ground. As a result of Elliott's death, the state enacted a law that gives police the power to seize the vehicles of drunken drivers for up to 12 hours.

His voice breaking, Elliott's father spoke passionately after the hearing.

"Anger and vengeance and malice are not what motivates us. Love is what motivates us ... It's time we won this war. It's time we ended drunk driving in America," he said.

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Author: 6 ABC-AP