argued it was made by the left. if they were correct, it meant the secret service could not have been over the center line. using photogrammetry, kayfetz was able to determine the width of the tire that made the skid mark and prove that it was, in fact, the right tire. as it happened, the right front tire on the wrecked labarge car was almost an inch narrower than the other three tires. it had been replaced probably by a spare tire at some point. and that particular tire mark matched only that narrower right front tire. proving the skid mark belonged to the secret service car was one of two critical issues facing dr. blythe. what was the sheriff reacting to when he applied his brakes? was he reacting to his perception that he was going too fast to make the corner, or was he reacting to some other danger that he saw?
the secret service could not have been over the center line. using photogrammetry, kayfetz was able to determine the width of the tire that made the skid mark and prove that it was, in fact, the right tire. as it happened, the right front tire on the wrecked labarge car was almost an inch narrower than the other three tires. it had been replaced probably by a spare tire at some point. and that particular tire mark matched only that narrower right front tire. proving the skid mark belonged to the secret service car was one of two critical issues facing dr. blythe. what was the sheriff reacting to when he applied his brakes? was he reacting to his perception that he was going too fast to make the corner, or was he reacting to some other danger that he saw? the highway patrol found
but then, a local photographer, don schneider, was looking at slides of the accident when he discovered a clue the highway patrol had missed, another skid mark. it was a surprise to me to see the mark there, because i had not observed the skid mark at the accident site. and i asked the question of the group that was there, hey fellas, what is this? and pointed to the skid mark that i saw on the screen. it was obvious in the matter of discussion a few moments later that this had something to do with the secret service car. attorney charles brunn showed the faint skid mark to a team of accident reconstruction experts. from the angle of the mark, it appeared that the secret service car had been over the center line and was turning back into its own lane when it was hit. and all of a sudden, i thought to myself, we have cause here for optimism.
this car is also a couple of feet over the center line. now comes the view from the fourth car driven by a key eyewitness, mona crocker, who told mait investigators she had seen the accident happen. she testified that at no time did she see any of the three secret service cars cross the center line. she also testified that she saw the accident occur. kayfetz s reenactment told a different story. so this is mona crocker s viewpoint. and what s important here is that, although the lead car ahead of her goes halfway over the center line, straddles the center line, from her viewpoint, that is never visible because it s around the curve and over the hill. crocker thought she could see the position of the cars. in fact, she could not.
from the beginning, the critical question in the case was always, why did deputy sinclair jam on his brakes? kayfetz s dramatic re-enactment answered the question. now, from sinclair s viewpoint, we can see that he sees the lead secret service car straddling the center line just a bit more than a second before he begins to skid in a straight line across the highway. the last view is that of agent labarge just before the fatal crash. based on kayfetz s powerful reenactment and the work of brunn s team of investigators, a judge ruled that the secret service agents were partially responsible for the accident. he also ruled that the united states should reimburse mariposa county 30% of a $4 million settlement that had been paid to