Driver fined in crash that injured officer Man says he didn't see police motorcycle

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Man involved in accident that injured Culpeper police officer convicted of improper driving and fined $200

By DONNIE JOHNSTON

Date published: 1/24/2006

The man involved in an Aug. 28 crash that severely injured a Culpeper town police motorcycle officer was convicted of improper driving and fined $200 yesterday.

Circuit Judge John Cullen, however, found Jose Saldana, 29, innocent of a reckless-driving charge that had been brought through direct indictment by Commonwealth's Attorney Gary Close.

Cullen made his ruling mere seconds after Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Dale Durrer concluded his closing arguments in the three-hour trial.

"What this boils down to is that Mr. Saldana failed to see a vehicle," Cullen said. "He was apparently watching for traffic coming from his right and when he glanced back did not see the officer coming."

While attempting to turn left onto the Sperryville Pike from Kelly Street through a break in a long funeral procession, Saldana pulled his 1991 Camaro into the path of Officer W.T. "Rosco" Barnes' motorcycle. The bike hit the side of Saldana's vehicle and the officer was thrown over the hood, landing on the pavement.

The officer suffered several broken bones and a serious head injury. He spent more than two months in the hospital, much of that time in a coma.

Barnes, who testified at yesterday's trial, is still undergoing physical therapy but continues to make a remarkable recovery.

"There is something unusual here," defense attorney Cris Lindsay said in his opening statement, referring to the rare direct indictment stemming from a nonfatal traffic accident.

"We are here [in Circuit Court] simply because an officer was involved," he added. "This has turned into a big deal when the facts indicate it to be a routine reckless-driving charge."

Durrer, who put eight witnesses on the stand, concluded by arguing that Saldana either "saw the officer and tried to beat him [to a break in the traffic]" or that his negligence "was so blatant and so obvious [as not to see] a motorcycle with its lights on and siren blaring."

Barnes was at the rear of a long funeral procession for 10-year-old Emily Nicole Woodward, who had been killed in a school-bus accident the previous week. Shortly before 3 p.m., the officer attempted to move ahead along the Sperryville Pike to direct traffic at the Main Street intersection.

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Date published: 1/24/2006