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.
With the procession in the left lane of the four-lane highway, Barnes, according to testimony by Officer Greg Butler, moved into the right lane at Virginia Avenue to pass the long line of cars, which had all but stopped.
Saldana testified that he was scheduled to play music at Precious Blood Catholic Church at 4 p.m. and was on his way from his Kelly Street home to pick up an acquaintance. Saldana is a Mexican immigrant who has been in this country on a legitimate work visa for 10 years.
"I was stopped at the stop sign for one or two minutes to let the funeral procession go by," Saldana testified through an interpreter.
"A man in a white van stopped at the intersection and waved me through," he added, noting that he was attempting a left turn.
Saldana said he was watching for traffic in the northbound lanes into which he was turning and did not see Barnes' motorcycle coming. With the windows up and air-conditioning going on a hot afternoon, he also did not hear its siren, he said.
Barnes said he looked up, saw the car in front of him and initially tried to avoid a collision. "There was no way to get around it," he said.
Close said that he was "very satisfied" with the verdict, adding, "I can't argue with this at all."
He said he chose to directly indict Saldana to avoid a possible reckless-driving verdict in District Court that likely would have been appealed.
Barnes said that he was not dissatisfied with the judge's decision.
"I'm fine with anything," he said. "I'm just thankful for my health."
Barnes said he hopes to be back aboard a new town motorcycle within three months.
To reach DONNIE JOHNSTON:
Email: djohnston@freelancestar.com