Jurors in a reckless driving case yesterday heard testimony from an expert witness indicating that the van that struck and killed former Permanent Secretary Ernest Owen was "completely'' on the wrong side of the road.

Glen Robinson, 55, of Kitty's Lane, Bailey's Bay, has been charged with causing Mr. Owen's death by reckless driving, causing his death by dangerous driving, driving while impaired, and refusing to give a breath sample.

Chief Insp. Roger Kendall yesterday told the court that he was trained in the science of reconstructing road accidents and had more than 30 years of experience.

But defence attorney Julian Hall objected to Chief Insp. Kendall being categorised as an expert witness on road traffic accidents.

Mr. Hall claimed that reconstructing road accidents could not be considered a science and was in fact "gobbledygook''.

"This man's opinion is worth no more than mine, although you (Acting Chief Justice Norma Wade) will probably consider his an expert,'' said Mr. Hall.

"I deplore the habit of Police officers offering their opinion as fact,'' he added before Mrs. Justice Wade allowed the Chief Inspector to be heard as an expert witness.

Chief Insp. Kendall, who was an Inspector when the accident occurred, said the minimum speed that Robinson's van could have been travelling at the time of the accident was 39.74 kilometres per hour.

He said the van did not brake until after it impacted with Mr. Owen's cycle, while the cycle never braked.

And he confirmed that skid marks indicated that at the moment of collision, the van was completely on the wrong side of the road.

During cross-examination, Mr. Hall asked Chief Insp. Kendall whether it was possible that Robinson's van could have been in the correct lane, but then swerved into the wrong lane to avoid a vehicle in his lane.

But although Chief Insp. Kendall admitted that he did not know what happened prior to impact, he stated: "The scenario described by Mr. Hall is inconsistent with my findings.'' Mr. Owen died as a result of multiple thorax and abdominal injuries during the early morning hours of March 25, 1995.

The accident occurred after Mr. Owen left the Pomander Road Bridge Club, shortly after midnight.

Although previous testimony indicated that Mr. Owen may have had four times the legal amount of alcohol in his blood, the pathologist who performed the autopsy yesterday testified that the blood sample was almost certainly contaminated.

Pathologist John Winwick gave details about the extent of Mr. Owen's injuries.

He said his upper back was broken, his fractured ribs had penetrated his lungs, and a major vein in his heart was torn.

Previous testimony indicated that a blood sample taken by Dr. Winwick's assistant showed a reading of 442 millilitres of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood -- more than four times the legal limit.

But yesterday Dr. Winwick said the high level of alcohol found in Mr. Owen's blood was almost certainly due to contamination of the sample.

"The results were clearly incompatible with the urine sample and the liver sample,'' said Dr. Winwick.

"The amount of alcohol found in the liver is consistent with having consumed one drink,'' he added.

"But having a reading of 442 is impossible. That is a level so high that it would probably cause death itself.

"If Mr. Owen's blood level was that high, he definitely would not have been able to ride a bike or play bridge.'' Dr. Winwick explained that although it was his responsibility to take blood samples, he was upset because he knew Mr. Owen.

His assistant, Donna Stowe, unknowingly took the blood sample from the chest cavity instead of from the extremities.

Dr. Winwick suggested that the contamination could have taken place if a glass of wine was consumed and it was still in the stomach at the time of death.

He said the wine could have spilled outside the stomach and caused the contamination.

Principal Crown Counsel Khamisi Tokunbo asked Dr. Winwick: "In order that such a high level of contamination happened, how much spillage would have to take place?'' Dr. Winwick replied: "Not much.'' But during cross-examination, Mr. Hall told Dr. Winwick: "I have to exhaust all possibilities, including the possibility of a cover up.'' "Mr. Owen certainly drank that night, but the question is -- how much. And whether it was enough to impair his ability to drive his cycle.'' The Crown closed its case yesterday, and the trial will resume Monday afternoon.

ACCIDENT AC