By Mike Schnitzel
Heidgen, 25, of Valley Stream, is being tried in New York State Supreme Court in Mineola for second-degree murder, 14 months after he drove his pickup truck in the wrong direction on the Meadowbrook Parkway and smashed into a limousine, killing 7-year-old Katie Flynn of Lido Beach and the limousine's driver, Stanley Rabinowitz, 59, of Farmingdale. Four members of Flynn's family were also injured in the crash.
State police investigator Michael Harris testified on Tuesday that Heidgen had told him he was in "self-destruct mode" on the night of July 1, 2005, in the hours before the early-morning crash. He had gotten into an argument with an ex-girlfriend and became very upset, according to Harris. "He said he was very upset and depressed and drank a lot of alcohol," Harris said.
Heidgen's lawyer, Stephen LaMagna of Garden City, has said that Heidgen was in a cheerful mood on the night of the crash, and that several of his friends were willing to testify to that.
Prosecutors hope to prove that Heidgen was despondent, and that he knew his actions that night could kill someone. They claim that he was acting with "depraved indifference" and that the crash amounted to murder, as Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said at a press conference last week.
LaMagna is also trying to refute the prosecution's contention that Heidgen was driving at high speed when the crash occurred. LaMagna has said previously that Heidgen, who had lived in Valley Stream for about eight months at the time of the accident, had gotten lost before, realizing he was going the wrong way on the parkway, and was slowing down to try and find his way. LaMagna said that an accident reconstruction expert he had hired estimated that Heidgen was driving at a speed of 33 mph before the crash. Prosecutor Maureen McCormick said that according to the first estimate from state police, Heidgen's speed was 45 mph.
Wade Bartlett, an accident reconstruction expert from New Hampshire, was hired by the district attorney's office to make an independent determination of the pickup's speed when it struck the limousine. After an initial estimate of 23 to 30 mph, Bartlett came back with a revised estimate of 60 mph.
LaMagna objected when the prosecution tried to call another expert, John Kwasnoski of Massachusetts, to testify. LaMagna contended that the prosecution was "shopping" for someone who would say Heidgen was driving fast. "They've gotten expert after expert so they can finally get someone to give an opinion to fit their case," LaMagna said. Judge Alan Honorof ruled that Kwasnoski could not testify on Tuesday, but reserved judgment on whether he may be allowed to testify later as a rebuttal witness.
There has also been legal wrangling over Heidgen's blood samples. State Trooper Daniel O'Hare testified on Sept. 12 that he was present when a nurse drew blood from Heidgen at Nassau University Medical Center after the crash. O'Hare said he labeled Heidgen's blood sample with a piece of white tape, and added his own initials and the date the sample was taken. O'Hare said he did not record Heidgen's name because he "couldn't get a coherent response" when he asked for his name. Prosecutors said the test showed that Heidgen's blood alcohol content was .28 percent, more than three times the legal limit of .08 percent.
LaMagna has questioned the validity of the test, contending that it cannot be proved that the blood that was tested belonged to Heidgen. State Police Investigator Eric Baez testified on Monday that Heidgen's blood sample was sealed with orange tape, not white, contradicting O'Hare's previous testimony.
On Sept. 15, prosecutors had the wreckage of the two vehicles involved in the crash brought to the courthouse for jurors and family members to examine. The Flynn family declined to view the wreckage. "We don't have to see it again," said Christopher Tangney, Katie Flynn's grandfather. "We lived it." Jurors and members of Rabinowitz's family gasped at the mangled vehicles, many wiping tears from their eyes. Keith Rabinowitz, the limousine driver's 28-year-old son, said the sight made him angrier than ever before.
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