Vehicular assault trial of area auto repair shop owner enters second week
BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. » The trial of area businessman John Cole entered its second week Monday with Saratoga County Court Judge James A. Murphy III lecturing the defendant once again on a continued public relations campaign that highlights his philanthropic work.
Cole, 53, is the owner of five local Cole’s Collisions auto repair shops. He is on trial for a March 11, 2017 one- car crash on Sit t erly Road, Halfmoon in which he was the driver. The accident resulted in one of his passengers being confined to a wheelchair.
After a night out including dinner and drinks in at least two area establishments Cole, his wife Regina, and longtime friends Deanna and Scott Shapiro were involved in a crash that severely injured Deanna Shapiro. She is now a quadriplegic fighting to regain the use of her arms and legs.
Cole was indicted Oct. 3 by the Saratoga County District Attorney’s office on charges of seconddegree assault, second-degree vehicular assault, driving while intoxicated and reckless driving.
The trial began last week with jury selections on Monday and Tuesday. The Shapiros testified as prosecution witnesses Thursday.
Media reports note that Cole was admonished through his attorney, Cheryl Coleman, on Friday morning without the jury present by Murphy for a series of television, print, website and Youtube spots and stories highlighting his philanthropy.
On Monday, Murphy gave the defendant and his attorney a similar lecture, again out of the jury’s presence. He ordered Cole to immediately call the public relations firm he’d hired and end
the press campaign. Referencing a print story in an area newspaper that morning, Murphy said the article confirmed, for him at least, Cole’s involvement in the campaign.
“These were purposeful designs, an intentional act potentially affecting the jurors,” Murphy said. “This is a Tsunami of good deeds. It’s a deliberate attempt to influence the jury. If there was any uncertainty there is no uncertainty now.”
The judge said he has seen some of the television spots himself and noted that work on the TV ads began in late February, a sign, he said, that the PR campaigned had been timed to the trial. As he continued, Murphy described the effect as a PR machine all done to put Cole in a good light “with a conspiratorial barrage of good deeds”.
“It’s offensive, inappropriate and unethical,” Murphy said to Coleman. “Even the charities are now distancing themselves from your client and his campaign. The people are entitled to a fair trial as is your client.”
Murphy then directed Cole to contact the head of the PR firm at that moment and get the public relations pieces pulled immediately.
During a five-minute recess, Cole left the courtroom and upon the court reconvening said he had done as the judge had ordered.
On Friday, Saratoga Count Assistant District Attorney Katherine DeMartino called New York State Police accident reconstruction expert Jeremy Shultis to the witness stand to report on his reconstruction of the accident.
In a highly detailed testimony Shultis went through his report noting data and personal observations showing, what he said, was Cole’s 2015 BMW 650i going east to west on Sitterly Road at 78 miles per hour. The speed limit on that part of the road is 40 mph.
Shultis said his reconstruction, which was done four hours after the crash, showed the car went over the yellow line, went off the road, hit a fire hydrant, hit a curve warning sign, crossed back to the proper side of the road where it failed to make a second curve, hit a
tree and rolled over.
“The data indicates to me the vehicle was capable of steering but not braking,” Shultis said. “In all but one sample the driver had the accelerator to the maximum and at no point does the data show the brake pedal was depressed.”
On Monday, in the presence of the jury, Coleman cross- examined Shultis. His two hours on the witness stand were awash in crash reconstruction terms like coefficient friction, critical speed, apexing a turn, tire yaw marks and occupant hitamatics.
As she led Shultis back through his Friday testimony, Coleman looked for inconsistencies and omissions.
When Shultis was asked
if he agreed the drive axle on the car was gone after hitting the fire hydrant, he said he would not agree.
Coleman noted a lack of weather conditions in Shultis’ report and claimed wind gusts in the Clifton Park area at 12:25 a.m., the time of the accident, registered 20 mph.
In at times intense questioning on dents and scratches to the car’s passenger side, Coleman got Shultis to acknowledge he had given no reason in his report for the marks’ presence on the passenger side of the car.
The prosecution was expected to wrap up its case late Monday and Coleman expects a full day on Tuesday as the defense presents its case. 270River St., Suite 202B, Troy, NY 12180 518-270-1200 518-270-1202
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