Wednesday, Jul. 15, 2009

Documents: State trooper on phone with girlfriend seconds before double-fatal crash

Matt Mitchell also was sending e-mails

In the seconds before a crash that killed two Colllinsville sisters and injured a Fayetteville couple, Illinois State Police trooper Matt Mitchell was traveling at triple-digit speeds, sending and receiving e-mails with another trooper and talking to his girlfriend on his cell phone, according to documents released in a civil suit this week.

Mitchell's car was traveling 126 mph as he responded an accident on Illinois 4 near Mascoutah when crossed the I-64 median and slammed head-on onto a Mazda sedan, killing two Collinsville sisters -- Jessica Uhl, 18, and Kelli Uhl, 13, and injuring Kelly and Christine Marler on Nov. 25, 2007.

The Marlers filed a personal injury suit against Mitchell, alleging he was negligent and caused the accident. Troy Walton, the Marlers' lawyer, filed documents in court in an effort to keep the case in circuit court and out of the state's court of claims.

Illinois' Tort Immunity Act protects government agencies from lawsuits brought against state employees for mistakes made while performing official duties. Suits such as this are usually filed in the state's court of claims, but Walton argues that Mitchell's actions were not a good faith error.

"Mitchell cannot argue with a straight face that his personal cell phone conversation while en route to the Route 4 and Stein Road accident constituted a uniquely governmental activity which he participated in solely -- or, for that matter, at all -- because of his status as an Illinois state trooper," Walton wrote.

Assistant Illinois Attorney General Bradley Bucher asked for dismissal of the case.

Bucher could not be reached for comment.

Mitchell still faces two counts of reckless homicide for the Uhls' deaths and aggravated reckless driving for the Marlers' injuries. He is scheduled to be in court to face the criminal charges next on Sept. 30.

Christine Marler, who was pregnant at the time, delivered a healthy baby three weeks after the wreck, but sustained knee and leg injuries. Kelly Marler suffered wrist injuries.

Walton contends that because Mitchell violated state law, the case can proceed in civil court, he said.

Exhibits attached to Walton's legal filing included a timeline prepared by Sgt. Stacie Horton, a report from the "black box" that recorded information from Mitchell's 2006 Chevrolet Impala moments before the crash.

The report showed Mitchell was traveling at 126 mph two and a half seconds before the crash. At a half-second before his car struck the Uhls' car head-on, Mitchell was traveling 102 mph.

St. Clair County Circuit Judge Patrick Young will hear arguments in the civil case today.