BALL HEADED FOR DISTRICT COURT, DUI, MARIJUANA CHARGES LOOM

Michael William Ball's fate could rest on the state's ability to prove
he violated a complex marijuana law before crashing into a Gardnerville
woman last month while driving an estimated 108 mph.

Ball is charged with two felonies for driving under the influence of
marijuana and two felonies for reckless driving after causing a wreck
that killed 46-year-old Tamra Dykes and his passenger, Travis Hayes.

Ball faces a maximum of 32 years in prison if convicted on all four
counts. Also, the two marijuana DUI charges, carry a minimum sentence of
two years each.

Ball was bound over to District Court after a six-hour preliminary
hearing Thursday in East Fork Justice Court.

Ball's attorney, Terri Roeser, told Presiding Senior Judge Steven
McMorris she will challenge the marijuana law as Ball's case proceeds
through District Court.

Ball voluntarily submitted to a blood draw after being flown to Washoe
Medical Center for treatment following the crash.

Ball's blood test indicates he used marijuana a maximum of six hours
prior to the test.

He was tested at about 11:25 a.m. The crash happened at about 9:30 a.m.

The state Legislature has decreed that anyone with a level of THC
metabolite higher than two is DUI. Ball's test showed a 3.92.

However, depending on someone's metabolism and how often they smoke
marijuana, it is difficult to gauge their level of impairment, Washoe
County sheriff's criminologist Karyl Brown testified.

Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Mike Walsh, who interviewed Ball at Washoe
Medical Center, testified Ball told him he used methamphetamine and
alcohol in addition to marijuana in the 24 hours prior to the accident,
However, Ball only tested positive for marijuana.

Ball's level of impairment is unknown, Brown said.

Also, there is no indication "when or how much pot was smoked," she
added.

Dr. William Anderson, chief toxicologist for Washoe County, said the
study of pharmacokinetics is imprecise.

Anderson agreed with Brown's statement and said there is no way of
knowing Ball's level of impairment at the time of the crash.

However, marijuana "exhibits an effect for about four hours in
practically all individuals."

Ball, as he has been during each of his court appearances since his July
18 arrest, was highly emotional throughout Thursday's proceeding.

Ball cried almost nonstop during the three-hour morning hearing and
again at the end of Thursday's hearing when the fatal injuries sustained
by Dykes were detailed.

Roeser said following Thursday's session that her client remains very
"emotional, depressed and remorseful "about the accident.

Earlier Thursday, Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Dean Reynolds, who
investigated the fatal crash, estimated Ball's speed at about 108 mph.
Dykes was traveling at 25 mph, he said.

The crash knocked Ball's car some 121 feet from the point of impact,
while Dykes's Buick was pushed 83 feet from the collision site, Reynolds
said.

There was no evidence either Dykes or Ball applied their brakes before
the accident.

Also Thursday, 78-year-old Al Pieri testified he was "nearly killed" by
Ball immediately prior to the crash that killed Dykes.

Pieri testified he was northbound on Tillman Lane when he saw a white
Honda driven by Ball heading directly toward him.

Pieri then swerved into the southbound lane's shoulder as Ball "barely"
missed him and passed Pieri on the right.

Ball had to swerve into the northbound lane's shoulder to avoid the
collision.

Pieri said the motor of Ball's 1995 Honda "was going at a terrific
speed" and "just screaming, like it was floorboarded" as it drove by.

Ball then re-entered the road and struck Dykes's car head-on, Pieri
said.

Pieri said he saw the crash, which resembled an "explosion" in his rear
view mirror.

"I knew something was going to happen," he testified. "A car going that
fast, something's got to happen."

After the crash, Pieri ran to Dykes's car, took her pulse and determined
she had died instantly.

Pieri said he saw Ball "stagger" out of his car toward him. He told Ball
he was a "damn fool, that he had nearly killed me and just killed that
lady."

Ball began screaming and yelling "incoherently," Pieri said.

Then Ball went to Dykes's car and in an effort to free her from the car,
he "bent the door frame away from the car.

"I couldn't believe my eyes," Pieri said.

Pieri also testified he left as soon as he could following the accident,
after talking with deputies.

"I wanted to get out of there," he said. "I had seen enough."

Alane Olson of the Washoe County Coroner's Office testified Dykes died
instantly from the impact of the crash.

At the hearing's end, before he bound all four of Ball's charges into
District Court, Presiding Senior Judge Steven McMorris told Deputy
District Attorney Kris Brown it could be difficult to prove Hayes
sustained serious and disabling injuries, as charged in the statute
because of Hayes' testimony.

McMorris substituted Thursday for Justice of the Peace Jim EnEarl.

Hayes, who said earlier Thursday he considers himself a "close friend"
of Ball's, downplayed the effects of a broken foot and various injuries
he sustained during the crash.

Hayes said he has had a broken foot before and it is not very disabling.

Hayes walks on crutches and must avoid any blow to the chest for the
next several weeks as a result of the crash.

Also, he testified he has no memory at all of the accident. Hayes
testified the last thing he remembers before the accident was being
picked up the previous night by Ball from Hayes's girlfriend's home.

Hayes said he remembers leaving with Ball for his residence to retrieve
$150 he owed Ball.

Ball was owed the money because of a cellular telephone bill and a
broken bracelet, Hayes said.

Ball returns to court Aug. 21 at 9 a.m. before District Judge Dave
Gamble.