Investigator found Vega had BAC of 0.131, accelerated towards victims in fatal 2023 northshore crash
The results of the analysis of Randy’s Vega blood at the TBI lab in Nashville. They found he had a BAC of 0.131 shortly after the fatal crash on Frazier Avenue on November 25, 2023.
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- “For some reason, the driver floored it right before he hit a building.”
This was the finding of Joe Warren, a crash investigator for the Chattanooga Police Department, on day three of the Randy Vega trial.
Vega is charged with nine separate criminal counts including two counts of vehicular homicide while intoxicated in a fatal crash on November 25, 2023 that killed 41 year old Ana Posso Rodriguez and her one year old baby son Jonathan Delvia on Frazier Avenue.
They were pedestrians in front of the Walnut Bridge Gift Shop, as the father and husband Octavio Paz suffered significant injuries he testified to on day one of the trial on Tuesday.
Warren’s testimony had begun on Wednesday afternoon, and continued into most of Thursday morning.
He said that based on his analysis, Vega was going 52 miles per hour in his van at the time of the crash on Frazier Avenue, while Dr. Patrick McGinty was going 49 miles per hour in his truck.
Both were well over the speed limit of 35 miles per hour.
Additionally, Warren said that data from the van’s black box recorded that Vega made a 30 degree turn in a possible attempt to cut off McGinty.
Warren says from there, he initially attempted to regain control of his vehicle after it began to slide by trying to steer his minivan to the right.
However, he said then for some reason, Vega floored it and turned his van back to the left towards the Walnut Bridge Gift Shop and the sidewalk where the victims were killed.
Warren said, “(McGinty) was able to bring it to a stop in the same distance that Mr. Vega struck the building and the victims at 52 mph… These actions don’t seem to make any sense given the nature of the crash. I just don’t know why you’d start steering back towards the building.”
He explained that Vega’s tachometer was stuck at 5400 rpm after the crash, which would near the max capability of his Dodge Caravan.
From there, several first responders testified to the transport of Vega from the crash scene to Erlanger Hospital.
One Hamilton County paramedic, Mason Twomey, said that he had to list Vega as having an ‘altered mental status’ on his post-incident report due to him being combative with emergency personnel.
Twomey says Vega attempted to resist an IV being put in him.
This mirrors testimony from Chattanooga Police Officer Sarah Cortese on Wednesday who described Vega as being aggressive towards first responders, as her bodycam depicted Vega using profanity towards them in the wake of the crash.
Later on Thursday afternoon, Kayla Kelley, who is a forensic investigator for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), said she tested samples of Vega’s blood that were collected at Erlanger in the hours following the crash.
She said the sample taken within an hour of the crash had a BAC level of 0.131, and the sample taken three hours later had a BAC level of 0.087.
The legal limit for drivers in Tennessee is 0.08.
Kelley went on to say for people with that high of a BAC level that, “They can have sudden mood swings and lose control easily.”
However, Vega’s public defender Andrea Hayduk questioned why Vega’s blood was drawn by a staff member at Erlanger and not by someone at the Chattanooga Police Department.
She argued this brings up chain of custody concerns.
Hayduk argued to Hamilton County Judge Boyd Patterson, “I don’t know who dropped the blood. I don’t know what procedure was used… I don’t know who drew it. I don’t know if an alcohol swab was used. I don’t know if proper forensic procedures were used.”
Prosecutor Sean Boers responded by saying they are not required to establish that chain due to it being drawn in a medical facility
Judge Patterson sided with the prosecution, allowing Vega’s BAC results to be presented to the jury.
Warren said the whole situation was avoidable.
He says, “Extreme speed and the maneuver by Mr. Vega to turn left were the main contributors to this tragic crash.”
The prosecution is expected to wrap up their testimony on Friday, as they plan to call Hamilton County medical examiner Dr. Stephen Cogswell and then wrap afterwards.
The defense will then have their opportunity to present evidence.
After the defense concludes, we will then have closing arguments before the case is turned over to the jurors for them to decide, which could occur as early as Friday, but potentially not happen until Saturday or Monday.
