Pubdate: Sun, 29 Jun 2003
Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Copyright: 2003 Richmond Newspapers Inc.
Contact:  http://www.timesdispatch.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/365
Author: Mark Bowes, Times-Dispatch Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom)

MARIJUANA A CLUE TO CRASH MYSTERY?

Many people wondered what went wrong when a Dinwiddie County sheriff's 
deputy died after his patrol car crashed along a straight stretch of U.S. 
460 en route to a call.

Was his attention momentarily diverted by a dropped cigarette? Did he 
become disoriented in patchy fog on the highway?

Now, authorities are wondering whether the answer lies in a Division of 
Forensic Science toxicology report. The results show that Deputy Timothy 
Wayne Martin had ingested marijuana and might have been impaired.

He had both active and inactive components of the drug in his system when 
he was taken to the hospital after the crash Oct. 16, 2002, the Dec. 18 
report shows.

Police said Martin, 34, was responding to a domestic call when his car ran 
off the divided highway's two westbound lanes two miles west of Courthouse 
Road. He was the first Dinwiddie deputy to die in the line of duty in the 
49 years that records have been kept.

Based on the toxicology report, Martin probably smoked marijuana the day of 
the crash, although it is nearly impossible to determine when and how much, 
said James Valentour, former chief toxicologist with the Virginia 
Department of Forensic Science.

"It certainly looked like he used it, and he probably used it within that 
day sometime," said Valentour, now retired, who examined a copy of the 
toxicology report for The Times-Dispatch.

Dinwiddie Sheriff Samuel H. Shands said he was floored by the results.

Shands said his reading of the report indicates the level of marijuana in 
Martin's system "was like a person being intoxicated, as far as being 
impaired for driving."

But he said it is difficult to say with any certainty what caused Martin, 
an eight-year veteran, to veer off the road.

The sheriff noted there was patchy fog throughout central Virginia that 
evening, and a state police report says the sky was cloudy and the road 
surface wet at the crash site.

The wreck occurred about 8:30 p.m. on an unlighted section of the highway.

"If the weather had been clear and everything, then I would rely strictly 
on [the toxicology report], that something was wrong with him being 
impaired," Shands said.

Smoking or ingesting marijuana diminishes a user's ability to process 
information, said Valentour, who has testified in court to its affect on 
drivers.

"You're easily distracted and cannot handle as many observations as you 
otherwise would," he said. "It can also slow down reactions and cause 
clumsiness and inattention to detail."

When the drug's active component is found in the body, as it was in 
Martin's case, "it implies, to some degree, that at least some of the 
adverse effects would still be evident," Valentour said.

According to a state police report, Martin was traveling west on U.S. 460 
when his car ran off the road to the left. The deputy overcorrected his 
steering and veered across both westbound lanes, running off the right side 
and striking several trees.

Martin, who wasn't wearing a safety belt, was ejected from the car into the 
middle of the road. He was flown by helicopter to Medical College of 
Virginia Hospitals, where he died about five hours later.

The force of the impact separated the car's motor from the frame. Police 
estimated the car was traveling 75 mph at the time of the crash.

Some speculated that Martin, a heavy cigarette smoker, might have dropped a 
cigarette while driving and lost control while trying to pick it up.

The toxicology report shows that a sample of Martin's blood, taken at the 
hospital, contained 0.001 milligrams per liter of Tetrahydrocannabinol, 
"the major active constituent of marijuana," Valentour said.

Tetrahydrocannabinol is ordinarily not detectable about four to eight hours 
after it was last ingested, Valentour said, which strongly indicates Martin 
had smoked marijuana earlier that day.

The report also shows that Martin had 0.006 milligrams per liter of THC 
Carboxylic Acid, or marijuana metabolite, the inactive byproduct of the drug.

Depending on the dose, the metabolite usually stays in the body longer, up 
to a couple of days. "In some instances, it's been reported in urine for 
weeks after last use, but usually it's not," Valentour said.

He said it would be difficult, if not impossible, to determine the level of 
intoxication at the time of the crash.

Unlike for alcohol use, there is no legal benchmark for establishing the 
intoxication level of a motorist using marijuana. "Marijuana is even more 
complicated than other drugs," Valentour said.

He noted that the toxicology report showed Martin also had in his system a 
small trace of Citalopram, an anti-depressant that can cause drowsiness 
under certain circumstances.

Shands said Martin's fiancee, with whom he had a 2-year-old son, was 
shocked by the toxicology findings. Several attempts by a reporter to reach 
her were unsuccessful.

"We talked to her, and I mean she was floored. [She said], 'No, No, No,'" 
Shands recalled. "And I had to believe her, because as much as he thought 
of his son, I wouldn't think that he would smoke around him."

Shands said his office has conducted random drug testing of employees since 
he took office eight years ago, and he was surprised that Martin's 
marijuana use didn't turn up sooner.

"I don't have a large staff, and usually if something would happen like 
that, someone would know and bring it to my attention."

Shands said that after he learned of Martin's toxicology results, he was 
reluctant to participate in a May 5 memorial service at the state Capitol 
that honored Martin and five other Virginia-law enforcement officers who 
died in the line of duty.

But Shands said he decided to go after consulting with Col. W. Gerald 
Massengill, superintendent of the Virginia State Police. Shands said 
Massengill talked with Gov. Mark R. Warner about Martin, "and the governor 
said he wanted me to participate in it."

"I didn't want something to come up later and then they say, 'Oh, he didn't 
tell us,'" Shands said.

Questions about Martin's marijuana use could jeopardize payment of survivor 
benefits to his fiancee and young son.

The sheriff's office has filed paperwork for numerous benefits on Martin's 
behalf, with his fiancee, Rebecca Felts, as the beneficiary.

At least some of those benefits have not yet been approved, more than eight 
months after the crash.

Wayne Faddis, administrator of the VACO Group Self Insurance Association, 
which handles worker's compensation claims for county government employees 
in Virginia, said Martin's claim is under investigation.

"At this point, I don't know if benefits will be paid or not," said Faddis, 
who declined further comment because of privacy concerns.

Faddis said benefits can be denied in cases where an employee knowingly 
violates his employer's policy against an unsafe activity and is injured or 
killed as a result of that violation.

A $75,000 "line-of-duty" death benefit available to Virginia police 
officers also has not been approved because the Virginia Department of 
Accounts is awaiting the results of the completed state police 
investigation. The department received the toxicology report this week.

Benefits that Martin was eligible to receive under the Virginia Retirement 
System have been paid to his survivors, although a VRS spokeswoman said she 
couldn't elaborate on the type of benefits or the amount. The benefits 
generally include life insurance and retirement compensation.
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