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Car hit, ran over
Dana Ireland, injury
expert says
Another witness testifies about
By Rod Thompson
a dent he saw on a murder
suspect's VW
Star-BulletinHILO -- The impact of the vehicle that hit 1991 murder victim Dana Ireland sent her flying across its hood. Then the car was driven back, to run over her and crush part of her pelvis, an expert in auto injuries testified.
The testimony by expert Jeff Wheeler yesterday also supported the prosecution view that Ireland was hit by a vehicle with a bumper relatively close to the ground, such as the Volkswagen "bug" owned by defendant Albert Ian Schweitzer.
Schweitzer is accused of kidnapping, rape and murder in the Christmas Eve 1991 death of Ireland, 23.
Wheeler began by explaining his specialty, biomechanics, which combines biology and medicine with engineering, he said.
Before the trial, Ireland's mangled bicycle was sent to him in Colorado, Wheeler said.
The bicycle was hit from the rear at a height of 13 inches, he said. That contradicts the theory of defense attorney James Biven that Ireland was hit on the hip at a height of about 30 inches by a truck with a high bumper.
Wheeler said the impact would knock the bicycle forward while sending Ireland flying backward, her buttocks hitting the hood of the car.
Also testifying yesterday, Schweitzer acquaintance John Gonsalves said he saw a 12-inch-wide dent in the hood of Schweitzer's Volkswagen on Christmas Eve 1991, within an hour or two of the time Ireland was hit.
Gonsalves is the half-brother of Frank Pauline Jr., 26, who was previously convicted in a separate trial for Ireland's murder. A third suspect in the case, Schweitzer's brother Shawn, 24, is to be tried in March.
Continuing his description, Wheeler said that Ireland probably flew along the side of the car and fell to the ground.
Ireland had so many injuries all over her body, they could not have been produced by a single event, he said. Tire tracks indicate the car turned and came back, he said.
The front portion of Ireland's pelvis was broken in four places, an unusual pattern that could only be produced by "severe compression," he said. "It's a runover," Wheeler said.
A gash on the back of her head was probably produced by the bottom of the car, perhaps an axle, hitting her head and grinding her face into the ground, he said.
That contradicts Pauline's numerous confessions, which suggested the gash was caused by a blow from a tire iron.
Gonsalves testified he saw damage to the apron of Schweitzer's Volkswagen, a piece of metal in the front, low to the ground.
Unlike Pauline's trial, Gonsalves was not allowed to testify about his brother's confession to him. Gonsalves admitted getting leniency in a drug charge against him, but said that came after he had already told authorities about Pauline's confession.
He also said he applied for $25,000 in reward money. He and his family have been threatened, and he needs the money to provide them security, he said.
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