prosecutors blame a Gainesville woman they say was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana for a van crash five years ago that killed three developmentally disabled women.
But during opening statements at the woman's trial Tuesday at the Alachua County Courthouse, the defense maintained that a defective tire led to the deadly accident on State Road 121 near LaCrosse in April 1998.
Facing prosecution is Rachel Sercey, 43, who is charged with three counts of vehicular homicide, three counts of manslaughter while driving under the influence and two counts of DUI with serious bodily injury.
It's alleged that Sercey, a former Tacachale employee, was supposed to drive several residents of the state-run facility to Ginnie Springs for a picnic. Instead, they ended up at the Union County home of a relative of Sercey's. On the way back to Tacachale, the van, which was riding on a flat back right tire, crashed. Seven residents had been riding in the six-passenger van. Three were thrown from the vehicle.
Killed were Patricia Chapman, 47, and Christine Decker, 38. Laura Bailey, 31, died from her injuries a few days later.
Also injured in the crash were Sercey, a co-worker and another resident.
The case had been stalled after the prosecution appealed a 2000 ruling declaring evidence of marijuana in Sercey's system inadmissible. An appellate court reversed that decision in part last year.
"This was not an accident as the defense would have you believe," Assistant State Attorney Marc Peterson told jurors. "Instead of going to the springs, the defendant indulged herself."
Sercey drank alcohol and smoked marijuana at her relative's home, he said, and then rushed back to Tacachale, ignoring the flat tire and driving on it so long that it disintegrated.
"This happened as a direct result of the actions Rachel Sercey decided to take on that day," Peterson said.
Chief Assistant Public Defender Johnny Kearns, however, told the jury his client was operating the van in a proper manner but was faced with "catastrophic tire failure."
Kearns said Sercey originally had not been scheduled to work that day, did not know where the springs were located and drove to her relative's home to try to get directions.
Kearns said Sercey did have one drink at the home, but a blood test taken by the hospital after the crash showed she had a blood-alcohol level below detectable limits of 0.02. The legal driving limit in Florida for alcohol is 0.08.
The defense attorney also said there was no evidence Sercey used marijuana at the house.
Tests of another blood draw from Sercey, taken about three hours after the crash, show a higher blood-alcohol level of about 0.06. Prosecutors intend to introduce that evidence as well as information from further examinations that show a reading for marijuana.
While prosecutors plan to present evidence that Sercey was impaired and should have known the tire was failing, the defense said it would show the tire had been improperly plugged before the road trip and had a manufacturing defect.
"The tire in effect is a ticking time bomb on the back of that vehicle waiting to explode," Kearns said.
Among those who testified Tuesday was Evertice Cole, Sercey's former co-worker who had been riding in the van. Cole was sentenced in November 1999 to seven years' probation after pleading no contest to seven counts of culpable negligence. She told jurors she did not see Sercey drinking or smoking marijuana, did not go into the Union County house and had no memory of the accident after Sercey told her to hold on because she was losing control of the van.
The trial against Sercey is scheduled to last into next week.
DUI manslaughter is punishable by as many as 15 years in prison. DUI with serious bodily injury carries a five-year maximum sentence. Vehicular homicide has a maximum sentence of as many as five years in prison, but that sentence could be enhanced based on certain circumstances.
Last year, a jury reached a verdict against Sercey in a wrongful death case filed by the families of the women. Because of the agency's role in managing Tacachale, the Department of Children & Families originally had been sued along with Sercey but was dismissed from the case in 2001.
Court records show the families reached a $200,000 settlement with the department, the maximum allowable under the law.
The department also agreed not to oppose a bill later signed by Gov. Jeb Bush offering an additional $400,000 to some of the women's families.
Lise Fisher can be reached at 374-5092 or fisherl@gvillesun.com.
