IMPAIRMENT, SPEED KEY FACTORS IN TRIAL

The second trial of a Gilbert man charged with killing three people in a
northeast Phoenix traffic collision hinges on whether he was impaired and
if he was speeding.

Prosecutors argue Justin Eveland smoked marijuana and drank alcohol before
the April 30, 1999, collision at Shea Boulevard and 57th Street, where his
Nissan slammed into a Plymouth and killed Richard Zielinski, 74, his
mother, Catherine Zielinski, 94, and her brother, Frank Minarich, 84.

Deputy Maricopa County Attorney Michael Gingold said in opening statements
Tuesday that Eveland tested positive for an active metabolite of marijuana
and "the defendant was speeding like a bullet that cost them their lives."

Defense attorney Chad Shell admitted Eveland smoked marijuana at 7 that
morning but said that had nothing to do with a collision that happened at 2
p.m.

Police jumped to a false conclusion after testing Eveland's blood, Shell
said, because Eveland made "probably the biggest mistake of his life" by
swallowing a small amount of marijuana after the accident to avoid a drug
possession arrest.

"It makes it look like he's high as a kite," Shell said. Shell called the
collision "a tragic accident" and blamed the victims, saying driver Richard
Zielinski's car "pulled out in the middle of the roadway and had no right
to be there."

Eveland, 19, was found guilty by jurors in March of three counts of
manslaughter, but Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Brian Ishikawa
granted a new trial on a technicality.

Ishikawa ruled he erred by allowing prosecutors to recall a witness to
clear up inconsistencies in his testimony and by failing to tell jurors
they could find Eveland innocent if they believed the collision was someone
else's fault.

The victims, all Phoenix residents, were en route to lay flowers on a
relative's grave. A witness, Kim Demarchais, testified she was going east
on Shea Boulevard when the Nissan passed her, going an estimated 65 mph.

"It was instantaneous, the passing car and seeing the results of the
collision. Like a blink of an eye," Demarchais said.

Katherine Hanke, another witness, said Eveland was going so fast that her
Cadillac shook as he passed. After witnessing the collision, Hanke said she
watched Eveland get out of the car.

"He was very obscene and was very upset at the driver of the other car,"
she said. "He said he was stupid and pulled out in front of him. He was
very vulgar."