Medical Examiner: Both men died from same injuries UPDATE 5:30 PM: Tuesday (2/6/2024) afternoon, Galveston County Medical Examiner Erin Barnhart was called to testify on behalf of the assistant medical examiner who did the autopsies because he died of cancer since the crash happened in 2017. She reviewed the autopsy photos of both Hong Phuc Le, 33, and his father, Van Duoc Le, 58. Barnhart said both men died from a broken neck and had their spinal cord cut in half. This was “not a survivable injury,” she added. While photos of the bodies were being shown, a family member decided to close his eyes. After Barnhart was dismissed for the day, Richard Bush, a forensic scientist with the Texas Department of Public Safety was called to the stand. Bush said his only involvement in this case was handling the blood cards. Blood cards have samples of the men’s DNA. He was asked how the handling process works, and then was released shortly after. The trial ended for the day just before 5 PM, and all will return again Wednesday (2/7/2024) morning at 9 AM. Dee Ann Haney faces two manslaughter charges after a July 3, 2017, crash on the I-45 northbound lanes approaching the George and Cynthia Mitchell Galveston Causeway. The truck Haney crashed into was on the far right of the Interstate 45 improved shoulder, according to evidence photos presented during the first day of testimony in the former Texas City Commissioner’s manslaughter trial. Hong Phuc Le, his father, Van Duoc Le and their cousin had pulled to the side of the road to secure their load and were outside a stopped black truck when Haney’s truck crashed into them and their vehicle. Both men were killed. Le family members closed their eyes or looked down when evidence photos shown in court showed the men’s bloody bodies on the side of the road after the fatal crash. The photos were taken by Galveston Police Department Senior Officer Dion Watson, who, at the time of the fatal crash, was a member of the department’s Crime Scene Unit. Watson was the first prosecution witness to testify. Before Watson’s testimony, lead prosecutor Lacey Launius told the jury of 6 women and 6 men that Haney was reckless in her driving, failed to maintain a single lane while driving, and drove onto the improved shoulder on the freeway. The prosecutor also said evidence in the case would show that Haney didn’t brake or try to evade crashing into the two men. Launius also noted that blood evidence and Haney’s own words confirmed she had taken a sleeping aide and a muscle relaxer before deciding to drive to the island after she was called in for work at Texas A&M University Galveston. The evidence, Launius said, would fit together like bricks in a stone pathway to prove Haney was guilty of reckless driving, causing the death of the two men. Haney’s attorney, Kevin Rekoff, deferred presenting a defense opening statement until after the prosecution rests its case. During the questioning of Watson, Rekoff successfully got the detective to clarify some of the items in the photos, such as a skid mark and a lone sandal near the victims’ truck, were not connected to the case.

Posted by i45NOW at 2024-02-06 19:51:56 UTC