VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Most of the second day of the trial of Nathan Poole involved testimony from a police officer who gave him field sobriety tests.
Poole, of Chesapeake, has been charged with manslaughter and DWI with serious injury in connection to an August 2022 incident in the Town Center area of Virginia Beach that killed Rosa Blanco, 76. Her cousin, Concepcion, now 81, was seriously hurt.
The officer testified that Poole failed most of the tests, including walking heel-to-toe, touching his nose and standing on one leg.
His defense attorney suggested that the tremors and swaying he exhibited during the field sobriety tests could’ve been the result of being emotionally distraught after what had happened, and that Poole had a green light as he made a left turn from Main Street onto Constitution.
The testing officer said Poole told her he was a “very, very, very, very heavy user of marijuana”, and had started at age 11.
Defense Attorney Diane Toscano said there is no dispute her client had cannabis in his system. The issue is whether it impaired his ability to drive.
She argued that field sobriety tests are designed for probable cause for an arrest, but not determinative of guilt in court.
Virginia has no presumptive standard for marijuana impairment, like the one it has for blood alcohol content. Judge Tanya Bullock said “this is a new area, we are in uncharted waters.”
Day 1: Trial gets underway
The trial for a Chesapeake man charged with manslaughter and DWI with serious injury in connection to a 2022 incident in the Town Center area of Virginia Beach got underway Monday in Circuit Court.
Nathan Poole, 26, is charged in the incident that involved the death of Rosa Blanco, 76. Her cousin, Concepcion, is now 81 and was seriously hurt.
Surveillance video from Aug. 22, 2022 shows the two women crossing Main Street in a crosswalk. Poole’s Chevy Silverado pick-up makes a left turn from Constitution Drive and strikes the two women, running over them. He then brought the truck to a stop.
The two women lay in the street as people gathered and police and medics responded within minutes.
Concepcion took the witness stand Monday, saying she remembered leaving Tupelo Honey restaurant, where they had been celebrating Rosa‘s birthday. She remembers nothing of the impact, only waking up in Sentara Norfolk General’s ICU.
Concepcion, and earlier her surgeon, told the jury of more than a dozen fractures.
She had injuries to her head, face and ribs and a traumatic brain injury.
Her son Nolan testified that he had to move into her home and take care of her around the clock once she was discharged seven weeks later.
Concepcion’s worst injury was to her foot, which required skin grafts and is permanently misshapen.
“I still hurt every day,” she told the jury.
Poole’s attorney, Diane Toscano, said it was a tragic accident, and there’s no way to know why the women chose to cross at that instant.
When she cross-examined the first police officer to encounter Poole, the officer said he did not notice any smell of marijuana when he was talking with Poole.
The two felony charges combined carry a maximum penalty of 20 years. The trial is expected to last the rest of this week.