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First Strike Environmental has filed a motion in Malheur County Circuit Court seeking dismissal of criminal charges filed in connection with the Aug. 24 van wreck in which eight company firefighters were killed outside Vale.
The Roseburg-based company was charged earlier this month with 20 criminal charges, including drunk driving, reckless driving and 18 counts of reckless endangerment. Malheur County District Attorney Dan Norris said the company condoned the use of alcohol that led to the fiery head-on crash on U.S. Highway 20.
Lab tests revealed that the driver of the van, Mark Ransdell, 23, of Myrtle Creek, had a blood alcohol level of .13 percent. The legal limit is .08. Company officials and David Terry, a Roseburg attorney who represents the company, dispute that Ransdell and other passengers in the van were drunk.
"The toxicology and the alleged blood alcohol are not accurate in this case," Terry said.
A videotape recorded at a convenience store in Vale 20 minutes before the crash does not indicate that Ransdell was intoxicated, said Terry and Bob Krueger, First Strike's president.
Ransdell can be seen on the tape walking into the store and later standing in line to buy a 12-pack of beer, they said. He allows another customer to cut in front of the line of firefighters and he also pulls out his wallet to show his ID without any problem, they said.
To reach the level of intoxication alleged by the state, Ransdell would have already been drunk by the time the crew stopped at the store in Vale, Terry said. He would have had trouble walking straight, he would have exhibited circular swaying, slurred speech and bloodshot, watery eyes, he said.
Neither the store clerk, nor the owner of the store, who sat on a stool on the edge of the sales counter and watched the transaction had their suspicions aroused, Terry said.
"I'll bet dollars to doughnuts there will be inconvertible proof that these readings weren't accurate," Terry said, claiming that a chemical reaction from the burning tissue produced the alcohol that gave what he said was a false reading.
Terry is seeking dismissal of the criminal charges based on a contention that First Strike did not benefit from the actions taken that day by Ransdell, who passed a semitruck in a no-passing zone and crashed head-on into another semi.
For a company to be criminally liable under Oregon law for the actions of an agent, the state must show that the actions took place within the scope of employment and "in behalf of the corporation."
In his motion, Terry argued that "in behalf" and "on behalf" cannot be used interchangeably. In behalf means for the benefit of, while on behalf means as the agent of or on the part of, which are completely different concepts, he wrote.
It was not possible for First Strike to benefit from the alleged drunken conduct of Ransdell and from company supervisors who did not stop the crew members from buying beer and ensuring that no alcohol was consumed, Terry wrote.
First Strike officials maintain that all of the beer purchased that day, as the crew returned to Oregon after spending 11 days fighting the South Fork fire in the Boise National Forest outside Cascade, Idaho, was placed in a cooler on top of the van. They said no alcohol was consumed during the trip.
During arraignment on the criminal charges Nov. 5, Terry told Malheur County Circuit Judge J. Burdette Pratt that he planned to ask for dismissal of the charges. The judge scheduled a hearing for Jan. 5 to hear arguments on the motion to dismiss.
* You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.
The Roseburg-based company was charged earlier this month with 20 criminal charges, including drunk driving, reckless driving and 18 counts of reckless endangerment. Malheur County District Attorney Dan Norris said the company condoned the use of alcohol that led to the fiery head-on crash on U.S. Highway 20.
Lab tests revealed that the driver of the van, Mark Ransdell, 23, of Myrtle Creek, had a blood alcohol level of .13 percent. The legal limit is .08. Company officials and David Terry, a Roseburg attorney who represents the company, dispute that Ransdell and other passengers in the van were drunk.
"The toxicology and the alleged blood alcohol are not accurate in this case," Terry said.
A videotape recorded at a convenience store in Vale 20 minutes before the crash does not indicate that Ransdell was intoxicated, said Terry and Bob Krueger, First Strike's president.
Ransdell can be seen on the tape walking into the store and later standing in line to buy a 12-pack of beer, they said. He allows another customer to cut in front of the line of firefighters and he also pulls out his wallet to show his ID without any problem, they said.
To reach the level of intoxication alleged by the state, Ransdell would have already been drunk by the time the crew stopped at the store in Vale, Terry said. He would have had trouble walking straight, he would have exhibited circular swaying, slurred speech and bloodshot, watery eyes, he said.
Neither the store clerk, nor the owner of the store, who sat on a stool on the edge of the sales counter and watched the transaction had their suspicions aroused, Terry said.
"I'll bet dollars to doughnuts there will be inconvertible proof that these readings weren't accurate," Terry said, claiming that a chemical reaction from the burning tissue produced the alcohol that gave what he said was a false reading.
Terry is seeking dismissal of the criminal charges based on a contention that First Strike did not benefit from the actions taken that day by Ransdell, who passed a semitruck in a no-passing zone and crashed head-on into another semi.
For a company to be criminally liable under Oregon law for the actions of an agent, the state must show that the actions took place within the scope of employment and "in behalf of the corporation."
In his motion, Terry argued that "in behalf" and "on behalf" cannot be used interchangeably. In behalf means for the benefit of, while on behalf means as the agent of or on the part of, which are completely different concepts, he wrote.
It was not possible for First Strike to benefit from the alleged drunken conduct of Ransdell and from company supervisors who did not stop the crew members from buying beer and ensuring that no alcohol was consumed, Terry wrote.
First Strike officials maintain that all of the beer purchased that day, as the crew returned to Oregon after spending 11 days fighting the South Fork fire in the Boise National Forest outside Cascade, Idaho, was placed in a cooler on top of the van. They said no alcohol was consumed during the trip.
During arraignment on the criminal charges Nov. 5, Terry told Malheur County Circuit Judge J. Burdette Pratt that he planned to ask for dismissal of the charges. The judge scheduled a hearing for Jan. 5 to hear arguments on the motion to dismiss.
* You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.
