Last Witness? Prosecution Accident Reconstruction Expert Testifies | Case Brief

Watch the full coverage of the live stream on ‪@TheEmilyDBaker‬ YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/live/3DAtOqbCSh0

Day 21 of the Karen Read Retrial happened on May 27, 2025. Week six of evidence included a voir dire of Dr. Welcher, the Commonwealth's accident reconstructionist. Concerns were raised about updated slides and changes to the presentation at the direction of Special Prosecutor, Hank Brennan, without informing the defense. Dr. Welcher also mentioned being "inundated" with emails about issues with Burgess' CV but he was told by the court not to read or discuss them.

The accident reconstructionist focused on the "trigger event," during a three point turn and its connection to Ian Whiffin's last point of contact. There was also discussion of variance, the three-point turn of the Lexus, and the backing event. Dr. Welcher analyzed the Lexus's tech stream data, which records data before and after a trigger event, such as reversing and accelerating. The data showed the backing event occurred about 8 minutes after the three-point turn. There are discrepancies and confusing aspects of Dr. Welcher's testimony and PowerPoint slides.

He also revealed that the Lexus's tires were spinning and slipping during the backing event, and the car traveled a total of 87 feet. Dr. Welcher ultimately concluded that the Lexus struck John O'Keefe, which led to objections and a sidebar discussion. Dr. Dr. Welcher struggled to provide exact details, such as the point of impact or speed, and that many of his findings showed “results that were all over the map”. He also mentions he is only certain that damage to Karen Read's tail light didn't come from John O'Keefe's Chevy.

Though this expert's testimony was tedious and disorganized, it did provided many areas doubt which is a win for the defense. Direct Examination will continue on Day 22.

RESOURCES
What You Need to Know About the Retrial -    • Karen Read Retrial. What you need to know ...  
Karen Read Retrial Playlist -    • Live Trials with Emily D. Baker  
Karen Read Trial - 2024 -    • Live Trials | Karen Read  - 2024 Mistrial  

THE DOCKET
0:00 Road So Far
4:12 What is a Variance?
4:43 Confused By His Own Slides
5:43 Lunch Summary
12:46 Do You Know Your Opinions?
14:06 We Don't Know When or Where John Was Hit!
17:11 End Of Day Summary

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