Trial Underway For Former Officer Accused Of Homicide By Vehicle
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The trial is underway for a former Pittsburgh Police Officer accused of homicide by vehicle in a motorcycle crash that killed his fiancé's intended maid of honor after a bachelorette party.
It's a non-jury trial before Judge Jeffrey Manning, who heard from the prosecutor Monday that the officer's blood alcohol content was way over the legal limit, and who heard the defense claim alcohol wasn't a substantial factor in the crash.
The family of Jessica Lojak packed the courtroom Monday to see just how this case that's dragged on for almost three years would end.
Officer Adam Lewis and his fiancé, Ashley Dockmonish, were scheduled to be married back in 2010. And after a bachelorette party on the South Side, Lewis took Lojak for a ride on his motorcycle back to Lincoln Place.
But once on Mifflin Road, Lewis lost control, hitting an SUV. The motorcycle crossed into the wrong lane. Officer James Payne, who followed a few cars behind Lewis that night, testified he was flagged down on his way up Mifflin road.
"I saw an expedition coming down the road with one light and a guy hanging out the window yelling there had been an accident," he said. "When I came around the corner, I saw the victim and the officer lying on the ground."
The legal BAC limit in Pennsylvania is .08. The prosecution says Lewis' level was .11. The defense says it will put on an expert to refute that alcohol played a substantial part in the crash.
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