There are three factors that cause traffic collisions to occur. They include: environmental, mechanical, and human conditions. While working in Ashland, KY, I was stopped by a traffic light where I could barely see due to the severe environmental condition caused by the sun glare. Many of us face this…
SRI is a company with a vision of helping people. For 18 years we have helped countless individuals and companies in many different areas: criminal, civil, child custody, divorce, business and medical. Our team in 2015 had 5 seperate criminal cases dismissed by the prosecutors motion, numerous civil cases were settled, several domestic cases were…
To the untrained eye this is just a picture of a broken light bulb. However, this picture first depicts the forensic photography skills of SRI’s trained investigator and the evidence contained int this photograph speaks volumes to the trained reconstructionist.
On Thursday, December 10, 2015 the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced the adoption of a Final Rule that will improve roadway safety. This rule incorporates technology to strengthen commercial truck and bus driver’s compliance with hours-of-service regulations that prevent fatigue among drivers. In the past drivers have been…
To full understand the higher level of knowledge, experience, skills, and physical abilities than that required to drive a non-commercial vehicle, I personally just got my commercial vehicle license for the SRI truck. In order to obtain a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), an applicant must pass both skills and knowledge testing geared to these…
Unfortunately all too often trusted officials don’t uphold their duty to protect and defend those individuals serving time for various crimes in our jail system. This was the case in the 2013 wrongful death case of inmate Larry Trent in the Perry County Detention Center. Deputy Jailers Damon Hickman, and William Howell beat Trent to…
In the past 40 days, SRI’s crime scene re-constructionist, Shelly Rice has had two criminal cases dismissed against our clients by motion of the Commonwealth Attorney. This is virtually unprecedented in criminal cases throughout Kentucky. The latest case involved an attempted murder charge against our client where the police charged him with shooting another man…
Two distinctly different definitions for a commercial motor vehicle are contained within the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. These definitions create a lot of confusion for the legal community. The following is an explanation of these two definitions. FMCSR part 383 outlines the requirements for a commercial driver’s license. Part 383.5 defines the types of…
During last year’s NFL playoff’s Dallas Cowboy’s wide receiver Dez Bryant caught the ball at the one yard line but the call was challenged by the Green Bay Packers coach. The referee’s and eventually the NFL said Bryant didn’t maintain possession of the ball. As a Cowboy’s fan, this seemed like and was obviously the…
Traffic collisions are caused by 3 factors. (1) Environmental Factors, (2) Human Factors, (3) Mechanical Factors. We at SRI routinely find that the mechanical component of traffic collisions is overlooked by investigators. It is rare that vehicles are inspected by mechanics and even more rare that the wheel and brake systems are taken apart and…
We at SRI are investigating a defect in 2014 and 2015 jeep products. Currently we are aware of 7 vehicles in the Hazard KY area with sudden acceleration and transmission problems. We know that there have to be more issues with these vehicles. Jeep solution to our client at this point has been to tell…
Given the current state of technology and electronics-derived knowledge, I find myself being continuously asked this question – “Are airbag control modules always accurate?” The simple answer is if all the equipment on the vehicle is to manufacturer specifications and the tires are not slipping, then “yes.” If the tires are slipping, or the mechanics…
Trained traffic collision reconstructionists can look at the light bulbs inside a vehicle’s headlamps and tail lights to determine if these lights were on or off at the time of collision. In many cases, this information can be quite valuable. If at the time of collision, headlamps or tail lights were not properly illuminated –…
Virtually every car sold in the United States today has an airbag control module (“ACM”) that records data and speeds in the seconds leading up to a collision – in the event that the airbag is deployed. SRI was recently involved in a case where the ACM was damaged to the point that it could…
Joey Stidham, Owner of Stidham Reconstruction and Investigation, and Shelly Rice, Crime Scene/Incident Scene Reconstructionist, conducted training Monday at the 43rd annual Public Defender Education conference at the HYATT Regency Downton Lexington, KY regarding the scientific analysis of forensic evidence from a shooting incident to determine the most probable sequence of events. The session included…