Prosecutor: Brandon Schaul admitted to being impaired the night he crashed into oncoming vehicle

CEDAR RAPIDS - Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden said it comes down to one issue for the jurors to decide - was Brandon Schaul under the influence or impaired by alcohol or drugs or a combination of both when he crossed the centerline and crashed into the van, which killed Rachel Denney and injured her 21-month-old daughter.

Schaul, 27, admitted to being under the influence that night, Vander Sanden said in his closing argument Friday. Schaul admitted to a Linn County Sheriff's deputy that he drank eight to 10 beers that night.

Vander Sanden told jurors to consider the way Schaul drove his truck. He lost control. Driving takes concentration and focus and a driver has to be able to react to circumstances, he said.

'It takes a mind uncluttered by drugs,” Vander Sanden said. 'He was so impaired that he crossed the centerline, killing Denny and paralyzing her Izabella. Impaired drivers are dangerous drivers.”

Schaul is charged with homicide by vehicle and serious injury by vehicle. He is accused of unintentionally causing the death of Rachel Denny, 26, of Coggon, and causing serious injury to her daughter Izabella by driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs or a combination of both.

According to testimony, Schaul was driving a pickup shortly before 1 a.m. May 18, 2013 when he hit a van driven by Rachel Denny, near the intersection of Highway 13 and Valley Farm Road near Central City. Denny died at the scene and Izabella remains paralyzed and can only breath with a ventilator as a result of the crash.

Jurors went home Friday without a verdict. They started deliberating after 11:30 a.m. They will resume deliberations 9 a.m. Monday in Linn County District Court.

Vander Sanden said Denny had the right to expect others to be sober that night she drove her daughter home from an emergency room visit.

Vander Sanden said another piece of evidence to consider is the fact that Schaul refused to submit to a blood and breath test. He admitted to drinking that night. Deputies found nine empty beer cans in his truck, which coincides with what he said.

'The medical records back up his impairment,” Vander Sanden said. 'The patient appears mildly intoxicated. He tested positive for marijuana.”

Al Willett, Schaul's attorney, in his closing argument, asked the jurors to consider the testimony of Dr. James O'Donnell, a Chicago pharmacologist, who said Schaul wasn't under the influence and wasn't impaired. His blood alcohol content level was .072 at the time of the crash, which is under the legal limit of .08. He tested for carboxy of THC, which is an inactive metabolite of marijuana that doesn't affect impairment.

Willett asked the jurors several times to consider that Izabella's safety seat wasn't strapped in by a seat belt from the van. A deputy testified about how unsafe it is if those safety seats aren't strapped in by a vehicle seat belt.

'The collision wasn't a direct cause of Izabella's injuries,” Willett said. 'Sadly accidents do happen but you have to find that Brandon was intoxicated or impaired. The evidence shows he wasn't.”

Schaul refusing a breath and blood test was about him being treated at the time, Willett said. He was experiencing pain and couldn't blow air for the breath test.

Willett said there is too much reasonable doubt in this case to convict Schaul.

'The shadow of this trial has been the shadow of emotion but you have to put that aside,” Willett said.

Vander Sanden on rebuttal said if there's a collision and a driver crosses the line and is impaired - 'that's not an accident.” He told the jurors to give O'Donnell's testimony little weight. He testified for a living and his calculations extrapolating the numbers to come up with the BAC were wrong.

Vander Sanden showed the miscalculations to the jurors after O'Donnell testified Thursday. O'Donnell agreed he was off.

'This happened because this man (pointing at Schaul) couldn't control his own vehicle and keep his car on his side of the road. It's not Rachel Denny's fault. Schaul is guilty as charged.”