• 09
  • February
    2012

In this Pennsylvania case, the judge wants more information about the electronic data recorder, or "black box," as it could make a significant difference in how he rules in 21-year-old Ryan Safka's case.

As Bobby Kerlik reports for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Safka is in court on 11 charges stemming from a fatal car wreck in 2010, resulting in three deaths.

The issue centers on how fast Safka was going when he plowed into a guardrail and flipped the car down an embankment. The car rolled several times; in the process, apparently all of Safka's passengers were killed.

Prosecutors contend that Safka was going 106 miles per hour when he hit the guardrail. Defense attorneys, on the other hand, contend that Safka may only have been going 49 miles per hour prior to the crash, and that the tires spun up and the black box registered 106 miles per hour when the car went airborne.

As Kerlik reports, the judge said, "There is no precedent for introducing this into evidence. Are they reliable? Are they accurate? Do they require calibration?"

In Texas (probably in Pennsylvania, too) fatal car wrecks because of speeding or drunk driving will often result in felony charges (as well as a civil wrongful death claim), so it's good to see a judge taking extra caution by questioning the black box evidence before making a ruling.

Source: Ruling delayed in fatal Parkway West wreck