Witnesses: No signs trucker tried to stop

Investigators found no evidence that a trucker blamed for a 2003 crash that killed eight woman on the Northwest Tollway tried to stop his 76,000-pound semi before it slammed into the back of the victims' tour bus, a pair of Illinois State Police troopers testified Tuesday.

Trooper Robert Story, a crash reconstruction officer, said no tire marks or other signs of braking were on the roadway before the point of impact, indicating accused trucker Vincente Zepeda may not have tried to slow before the collision.

"He either didn't apply the brakes or did not apply them hard enough," Story said.

The testimony came on the second day of trial for Zepeda, who faces eight counts of reckless homicide stemming from a five-vehicle pileup Oct. 1, 2003, just west of the Marengo/Hampshire toll plaza.

McHenry County authorities say Zepeda, 54, of Chicago, was driving too fast for conditions and ignored numerous cues to slow down as he approached a traffic backup near the toll plaza. His truck crashed into the rear of a 25-seat tour bus, killing eight Chicago-area women and injuring about a dozen others aboard it.

The victims were members of Illinois Women's Associates, an organization of foreign women living in the Chicago area. The group was returning from a tour of Japanese gardens near Rockford when the mid-afternoon crash occurred.

Story, one of the state's final witnesses before resting its case Tuesday afternoon, said calculations from crash data indicates Zepeda's truck was traveling more than 60 mph at impact, at least 15 mph above the speed limit because the collision took place in a construction zone.

Earlier, another state trooper testified that a later examination of Zepeda's truck revealed brakes on one of its axles were so out of adjustment that they essentially were useless. A simple pre-trip inspection, Trooper James Kirkpatrick said, should have discovered the problem.

"The vehicle should have been placed out of service," Kirkpatrick testified.

However, under cross-examination by Zepeda's defense, Story said a National Transportation Safety Board investigation determined the faulty brakes were not a factor in the crash.

After the state rested, defense attorney Donald Rendler-Kaplan made a motion for a directed finding.

"To prove (reckless homicide), the conduct has to rise to a willful and wanton level, your honor, and we don't have that," he said. "The most the state has shown is negligence on Mr. Zepeda's part, not reckless behavior."

If Judge Sharon Prather denies the motion, the defense will begin presenting its case. At the request of Zepeda, Prather is hearing the trial instead of a jury.

If convicted, Zepeda could face up to five years in prison and the loss of his ability to work as a truck driver.