MARIJUANA A CLUE TO CRASH MYSTERY?

Many people wondered what went wrong when a Dinwiddie County sheriff's
deputy died after his patrol car crashed along a straight stretch of U.S.
460 en route to a call.

Was his attention momentarily diverted by a dropped cigarette? Did he
become disoriented in patchy fog on the highway?

Now, authorities are wondering whether the answer lies in a Division of
Forensic Science toxicology report. The results show that Deputy Timothy
Wayne Martin had ingested marijuana and might have been impaired.

He had both active and inactive components of the drug in his system when
he was taken to the hospital after the crash Oct. 16, 2002, the Dec. 18
report shows.

Police said Martin, 34, was responding to a domestic call when his car ran
off the divided highway's two westbound lanes two miles west of Courthouse
Road. He was the first Dinwiddie deputy to die in the line of duty in the
49 years that records have been kept.

Based on the toxicology report, Martin probably smoked marijuana the day of
the crash, although it is nearly impossible to determine when and how much,
said James Valentour, former chief toxicologist with the Virginia
Department of Forensic Science.

"It certainly looked like he used it, and he probably used it within that
day sometime," said Valentour, now retired, who examined a copy of the
toxicology report for The Times-Dispatch.

Dinwiddie Sheriff Samuel H. Shands said he was floored by the results.

Shands said his reading of the report indicates the level of marijuana in
Martin's system "was like a person being intoxicated, as far as being
impaired for driving."

But he said it is difficult to say with any certainty what caused Martin,
an eight-year veteran, to veer off the road.

The sheriff noted there was patchy fog throughout central Virginia that
evening, and a state police report says the sky was cloudy and the road
surface wet at the crash site.

The wreck occurred about 8:30 p.m. on an unlighted section of the highway.

"If the weather had been clear and everything, then I would rely strictly
on [the toxicology report], that something was wrong with him being
impaired," Shands said.

Smoking or ingesting marijuana diminishes a user's ability to process
information, said Valentour, who has testified in court to its affect on
drivers.

"You're easily distracted and cannot handle as many observations as you
otherwise would," he said. "It can also slow down reactions and cause
clumsiness and inattention to detail."

When the drug's active component is found in the body, as it was in
Martin's case, "it implies, to some degree, that at least some of the
adverse effects would still be evident," Valentour said.

According to a state police report, Martin was traveling west on U.S. 460
when his car ran off the road to the left. The deputy overcorrected his
steering and veered across both westbound lanes, running off the right side
and striking several trees.

Martin, who wasn't wearing a safety belt, was ejected from the car into the
middle of the road. He was flown by helicopter to Medical College of
Virginia Hospitals, where he died about five hours later.

The force of the impact separated the car's motor from the frame. Police
estimated the car was traveling 75 mph at the time of the crash.

Some speculated that Martin, a heavy cigarette smoker, might have dropped a
cigarette while driving and lost control while trying to pick it up.

The toxicology report shows that a sample of Martin's blood, taken at the
hospital, contained 0.001 milligrams per liter of Tetrahydrocannabinol,
"the major active constituent of marijuana," Valentour said.

Tetrahydrocannabinol is ordinarily not detectable about four to eight hours
after it was last ingested, Valentour said, which strongly indicates Martin
had smoked marijuana earlier that day.

The report also shows that Martin had 0.006 milligrams per liter of THC
Carboxylic Acid, or marijuana metabolite, the inactive byproduct of the drug.

Depending on the dose, the metabolite usually stays in the body longer, up
to a couple of days. "In some instances, it's been reported in urine for
weeks after last use, but usually it's not," Valentour said.

He said it would be difficult, if not impossible, to determine the level of
intoxication at the time of the crash.

Unlike for alcohol use, there is no legal benchmark for establishing the
intoxication level of a motorist using marijuana. "Marijuana is even more
complicated than other drugs," Valentour said.

He noted that the toxicology report showed Martin also had in his system a
small trace of Citalopram, an anti-depressant that can cause drowsiness
under certain circumstances.

Shands said Martin's fiancee, with whom he had a 2-year-old son, was
shocked by the toxicology findings. Several attempts by a reporter to reach
her were unsuccessful.

"We talked to her, and I mean she was floored. [She said], 'No, No, No,'"
Shands recalled. "And I had to believe her, because as much as he thought
of his son, I wouldn't think that he would smoke around him."

Shands said his office has conducted random drug testing of employees since
he took office eight years ago, and he was surprised that Martin's
marijuana use didn't turn up sooner.

"I don't have a large staff, and usually if something would happen like
that, someone would know and bring it to my attention."

Shands said that after he learned of Martin's toxicology results, he was
reluctant to participate in a May 5 memorial service at the state Capitol
that honored Martin and five other Virginia-law enforcement officers who
died in the line of duty.

But Shands said he decided to go after consulting with Col. W. Gerald
Massengill, superintendent of the Virginia State Police. Shands said
Massengill talked with Gov. Mark R. Warner about Martin, "and the governor
said he wanted me to participate in it."

"I didn't want something to come up later and then they say, 'Oh, he didn't
tell us,'" Shands said.

Questions about Martin's marijuana use could jeopardize payment of survivor
benefits to his fiancee and young son.

The sheriff's office has filed paperwork for numerous benefits on Martin's
behalf, with his fiancee, Rebecca Felts, as the beneficiary.

At least some of those benefits have not yet been approved, more than eight
months after the crash.

Wayne Faddis, administrator of the VACO Group Self Insurance Association,
which handles worker's compensation claims for county government employees
in Virginia, said Martin's claim is under investigation.

"At this point, I don't know if benefits will be paid or not," said Faddis,
who declined further comment because of privacy concerns.

Faddis said benefits can be denied in cases where an employee knowingly
violates his employer's policy against an unsafe activity and is injured or
killed as a result of that violation.

A $75,000 "line-of-duty" death benefit available to Virginia police
officers also has not been approved because the Virginia Department of
Accounts is awaiting the results of the completed state police
investigation. The department received the toxicology report this week.

Benefits that Martin was eligible to receive under the Virginia Retirement
System have been paid to his survivors, although a VRS spokeswoman said she
couldn't elaborate on the type of benefits or the amount. The benefits
generally include life insurance and retirement compensation.