Hair, blood found on Goodrich's car
Posted on 01/23/2003 2:40:06 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Hair, blood found on Goodrich's car
DNA tests expected for hit-run evidence from player's windshield
01/23/2003
Police investigating the fatal hit-and-run accident involving Dallas Cowboys player Dwayne Goodrich have collected blood and hair samples from the center of his car's windshield, according to court records made public Wednesday.
Mr. Goodrich, charged with two counts of manslaughter, has said through his attorney that he initially thought he'd struck only debris from an accident Jan. 14 on Interstate 35E in northwest Dallas.
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His car hit and killed Demont Matthews, 23, and Joseph "Joby" Wood, 21, who were helping an injured man trapped in a burning car.
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The court records show that investigators collected hair and blood from a point of impact in the center of the windshield of the 2002 BMW 745i. Tissue and hair were also found underneath weatherstripping near the windshield, and fiber and hair were found near the right headlight.
Pieces of glass with blood were collected from the right dashboard, and hair samples were taken from the right front seat, the records show.
Investigators are expected to perform DNA tests on the hair and blood, officials said.
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Mr. Goodrich, 24, told police he was the driver and sole occupant of the car, according to the court records.
Dallas County District Attorney Bill Hill said he could not comment on the case, but he agreed to speak in general about evidence - such as hair and blood - found on a windshield of a car involved in an accident with pedestrians.
"Hypothetically, that kind of physical evidence would lead me to believe that whoever was driving that automobile would have known he hit a person," Mr. Hill said.
Nothing unexpected
Dallas attorney Reed Prospere, who is representing Mr. Goodrich, said he would not discuss the facts of his client's case but spoke in general terms.
"I guess hypothetically I'd agree with Mr. Hill's assessment, but the key question is: When did that become apparent? When did that become a reality? Because, obviously, anyone who has been involved in an accident situation hopes there has been a minimal amount of damage and no injuries."
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"This is what you would expect from a vehicle that's been involved in a collision with more than one individual," he said. "This tells me the police are doing a good and thorough job, and as far as I'm concerned, if they continue doing as good and thorough a job, it will benefit my client."
Mr. Prospere said he had not seen the damage to his client's car.
Dallas police spokeswoman Janice Houston would not comment Wednesday on the condition of the car. She said the department has secured the vehicle at the city auto pound and would not allow it to be viewed Wednesday.
"We're working closely with the district attorney's office, and the car should be made available at a later date," she said.
Mr. Goodrich's accident occurred after a speeding and inattentive driver slammed into the back of a tractor-trailer cab about 2:15 a.m. Jan. 14. Three good Samaritans were trying to rescue a man trapped inside the burning car in the far left lane when Mr. Goodrich's car drove between the fiery car and the concrete highway barrier.
Witnesses told police that the BMW was traveling more than 100 mph.
Mr. Goodrich's car struck three men, two of whom died. The other suffered a broken leg.
The backup cornerback went home and called his agent, who put him in contact with Mr. Prospere.
Once he realized
The lawyer has said his client was remorseful and ready to accept responsibility when he realized people had been hurt. Police were called about 4 p.m., more than 12 hours after the accident, to meet with Mr. Goodrich at Mr. Prospere's office on Preston Road. Mr. Goodrich is out of jail on $50,000 bail.
Meanwhile, a Dallas County district court judge has issued a temporary restraining order against Silver City Cabaret to preserve records related to that night, when Mr. Goodrich was a patron at the topless club. The order was granted on behalf of Kathryn Argumaniz, who is identified in court documents as Mr. Wood's wife.
Mr. Goodrich spent nearly two hours at Silver City, a private club and topless bar, before the accident, but he has denied through his attorney that he had been drinking alcohol.
Mr. Hill said he would like a jury to consider the criminal case.
"This is a case where a jury should make a decision as to the defendant's guilt," he said. "If he's found guilty, [jurors should also determine] what punishment should be given."
Staff writer Jason Trahan contributed to this report.
E-mail hbecka@dallasnews.com
Where's the rope???...
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But he threw that away.
If he did what he's charged with doing here he should be put to death for it.
Of course that won't happen, the law won't permit it.
But he can be found guilty of multiple, serious felony charges. And he can be sentenced to maximum times for each charge... to be served consecutively.
He had his chance and he blew it.
Wreck his life... It's what he deserves.
Yeah, right! I guess he thought he hit three pieces of debris that were each about six feet tall.
I am trying to picture this (attempting to "thread the needle", in your expensive car, between a concrete barrier and a car ON FIRE, at 100 mph, while oblivious to the three human beings in your path).
All I can come up with is that he was stinking drunk and driving like a maniac long before he happened upon the accident scene. There will probably be witnesses to testify to his erratic driving from miles back.
Manslaughter at minimum, plus whatever else they can throw at him. I don't believe for a minute that he didn't see the men; the fire would have made them visible, to anyone that was looking.
Do tou think so? Ray Lewis w/ the Ravens is still a star and he aided and abetted the escape of murderers (at the very least). This is hit and run manslaughter; jaywalking for a NFL star. 50 hours community service max. is my prediction.
You think better than me. It's in the "gin mill" interest to lie about how many drinks he had. Otherwise (obviously) they get sued too. Did he put it on credit card? I rate this at less than 50% since many don't want STRIP JOINT showing on their credit card statements.
ACTUALLY change that to more than 75% since anyone stupid/stoned enough to "thread the needle" at night where a flaming wreck is, is charging stuff to his credit card. The bozo was on self destruct that night. What was the reason? Inquiring minds and prosecutors want to know.
Do tou think so?..."
Of course I do.
I don't confuse the willful act of throwing an opportunity away with the possibility that there might be a lack of appropriate consequences for having done so.
There are young women wearing white wedding dresses every day who take advantage of this potential disconnect in action/consequence.
The essential nature of a such a thing is not altered by the response (or lack of a response) of others to it.
Now… For the sake of argument here… You're wrong about his punishment. He's toast...
Texas toast.
I agree. It takes away the minimum amount of sympathy the jurors MAY have had for a "he was so drunk he didn't know what he was doing" driver,and places him squarely into the "cold and calculating drunk who knew exactly what he was doing,and only cared about himself." class. In a case like this you need all the sympathy from the jury that you can get,and he is going to get zero.
Texas toast.
I think/hope you are correct about that. I've become a Dallas fan since they hired the Big Tuna, and I would like to believe he wouldn't let someone like that play for him.
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