Jury finds man not guilty of homicide by vehicle
A Monongahela man was found not guilty of homicide by vehicle on Tuesday in Fayette County Court. Jurors deliberated for about 90 minutes before acquitting Robert Bobin, 52, in the April 3, 2004, death of James P. Stokes of South Huntingdon Township, Westmoreland County. Judge Gerald R. Solomon found Bobin guilty of summary offenses for careless driving and driving on the wrong side of the road. The judge fined him $300 in each case.
Bobin crossed the double yellow line on Route 51, just north of Perryopolis, and hit Stokes’ car.
The impact killed Stokes, 17, who was on his way to take college entrance exams.
Bobin’s lawyer, Jason Walsh, argued that crossing the center line in the road without any other factors removed any criminal liability from the case.
“We’ve always maintained that it wasn’t a homicide by vehicle case, it was a horrible, tragic accident,” Walsh said after the verdict.
Court rulings from last year and 2005 stopped jurors from hearing any evidence about where Bobin was heading when the accident occurred. State police said he was on his way toward Uniontown, heading to a methadone clinic.
An appellate court also upheld a ruling that prosecutors could not present any psychiatric records and testimony from Bobin’s wife about his mental state.
Stokes’ mother, Mary Stokes, said she and her husband were frustrated by the court rulings.
“In our eyes, justice was not served today,” she said. “It is a sad day for our family and for the justice system when the truth and facts can not be told in a court of law because a defendant has more rights than his innocent victim.
“Mr. Bobin has caused us to lose one of God’s most precious gifts, our son, and to date, he has never made any attempt to apologize. He has taken more from us than he ever will know. He has given us a life sentence, a life without Jimmy, our only son, who we loved dearly,” she said.
When the latest ruling came down precluding prosecutors from using that evidence, District Attorney Nancy D. Vernon moved to dismiss the vehicular homicide charge, indicating she did not believe there was enough evidence to support that Bobin was grossly negligent.
Bobin had pleaded no contest to the summary offenses, and Judge John F. Wagner Jr. said he would not dismiss the homicide charge without the consent of Stokes’ parents. During a hearing last month, Mary Stokes said she and her husband wanted the case to be tried.
An accident reconstructionist testified during the trial that both Stokes and Bobin were driving around the 55 mph speed limit when the crash happened.
Cpl. Joseph D’Andrea also indicated that Bobin drove nearly halfway into Stokes’ lane of travel before the cars collided.
Charges were filed against Bobin after a coroner’s jury recommended the case be further investigated because Bobin did not testify at an inquest into Stokes’ death.