had lacerations behind his ear and bruising on his right foot. testified that after he stopped, his vehicle was hit from behind and “got mauled.” T.Y.’s vehicle hit the vehicle in front of him, so the front of his vehicle was also damaged. The accident victims noticed traffic slowing, saw a long line of cars with brake lights, and stopped safely. South of Owatonna, traffic stopped due to a separate incident. Near Owatonna, the interstate was “treacherous” due to snow and ice. They described the day of the accident as clear and sunny. 2 The accident victims testified at Flategraff’s jury trial. The district court denied Flategraff’s motion, finding that Sergeant McGraw qualified as an expert under Minn.
He explained differences between motor vehicles and heavy trucks and how he accounted for those differences in his reconstruction. Sergeant McGraw also testified about his training in heavy-truck accident reconstruction. He described his training, certification, and many years serving as a reconstructionist. During a hearing on the motion, Sergeant McGraw testified that he held himself out as an expert in crash reconstruction. At pretrial, Flategraff moved to prohibit Sergeant Kelley McGraw, who prepared the crash-reconstruction report, from testifying as an expert in heavy-truck accident reconstruction. No other factor contributed to Flategraff’s inaction-he was not under the influence and he was not tired. He glanced at his GPS and then was startled by a “boom, boom, boom.” Flategraff did not react and did not know why traffic was stopped. Flategraff was traveling approximately 40-45 miles per hour.
He stated that visibility was good that day, but traffic conditions on Interstate 35 south were “spotty.” Ice on the road was thicker the farther south he drove, and by Owatonna, the road was covered in ice. Following the accident, Flategraff gave a statement to law enforcement.
#ADAM JOHN DRIVER#
One driver was airlifted from the scene with a significant head injury.
The vehicles’ occupants were transported to hospitals for injuries. FACTS The state charged appellant Adam John Flategraff with multiple counts of criminal vehicular operation and reckless driving after he crashed his semi-truck into a vehicle and created a chain reaction of crashing vehicles. Paul, Minnesota (for appellant) NONPRECEDENTIAL OPINION WORKE, Judge Appellant challenges his conviction for criminal vehicular operation, arguing that the district court abused its discretion by allowing a state trooper to testify as an expert witness. Paul, Minnesota and Dan McIntosh, Steele County Attorney, Owatonna, Minnesota (for respondent) Cathryn Middlebrook, Chief Appellate Public Defender, Julie Loftus Nelson, Assistant Public Defender, St. 74-CR-17-1736 Keith Ellison, Attorney General, Peter Magnuson, Assistant Attorney General, St. Filed Affirmed Worke, Judge Steele County District Court File No. STATE OF MINNESOTA IN COURT OF APPEALS A20-0345 State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. This opinion is nonprecedential except as provided by Minn.
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