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Karen Read's SUV reached '74% throttle' moments before John O'Keefe's final movements, crash expert testifies
The prosecution in Karen Reads trial looked to cement its narrative surrounding the death of Boston Police Officer John OKeefe by turning to a crash experts data placing Read at the crime scene during OKeefes final movements on the morning of his death.Read, 45, is accused of hitting her boyfriend, 46-year-old OKeefe, with her Lexus SUV in a drunken rage in the early morning hours of Jan. 29, 2022, before leaving him to freeze to death in the front yard of a fellow officers home in Canton, Massachusetts.On Tuesday, special prosecutor Hank Brennan called the states likely final witness to the stand. Dr. Judson Welcher, an accident reconstructionist and biomechanical engineer with Aperture LLC, testified that the black box data within Reads vehicle did not register a collision on the morning of OKeefes death, but he insisted the lack of data is expected because the system only registers car-to-car crashes, not pedestrians.BRAIN SURGEON TESTIFIES JOHN O'KEEFE DIED FROM FALL ON FROZEN GROUND IN KAREN READ TRIAL"Were you surprised that there was no information about a collision in the [black box]?" Brennan asked."No," Welcher said. "[It was] exactly what I expected."Welcher testified that he was able to match Techstream data from Reads Lexus SUV to the vehicles infotainment clock using reports from his colleague, Shanon Burgess, showing the moment Reads vehicle was turned on.KAREN READ TRIAL WITNESS FACES BRUTAL CROSS-EXAMINATION OVER VEHICLE DATA"So were going from the running clock to a real-world clock," Welcher said. "If you take when [the vehicle] was turned on from Burgess report, you can see that the Lexus was turned on at 12:12:36 a.m."The Techstream clock within Reads vehicle was 21 to 29 seconds behind OKeefes cellphone clock, requiring investigators to advance the data to match the cellphone, Welcher explained."Thats why you need to have an apples-to-apples comparison," Welcher said. "You need to get them on the same time clock."EXPERT WITNESS IN KAREN READ MURDER TRIAL CAUGHT WITH 'ERRORS' INFLATING HIS CREDENTIALSApproximately 19 minutes after the ignition was turned on, Reads vehicle registered a second trigger event, according to Welcher. Pointing to revolutions per minute, acceleration and shifting data from the black box, Welcher testified that Reads vehicle drove forward 34 feet before backing up 53 feet at a 74% throttle, with data indicating the car was traveling at 23 mph by the end of the trigger event.Welcher pointed to data from OKeefes phone, telling Brennan the rapid acceleration of Reads vehicle matched with the timestamp of OKeefes final interaction with the device."[The trigger event] matches the window of the cellphone data for OKeefe," Welcher said. "That puts [the vehicle] in front of 34 Fairview."KAREN READ SCORES MAJOR WIN AS JUDGE ALLOWS CRASH RECONSTRUCTION TESTIMONYThe data corroboration further solidifies the prosecutions timeline surrounding what allegedly caused OKeefes death outside the Massachusetts home."At best for the defendant, this witness is moderately damaging," retired Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Jack Lu told Fox News Digital. "Seventy-four percent acceleration, no brake; Welcher is likable and professional but not over the top, sort of humble."Welcher turned his attention to surveillance footage showing Read pulling out of OKeefes driveway shortly before discovering his lifeless body in the snow, testifying that his investigation concluded the bumper of Reads vehicle did come in contact with OKeefe, but the taillight did not."I hate to see any party get hurt, but this was a bad day for Ms. Read,"Lu said. "She [was] driving a very high-end luxury Lexus SUV and pushed the throttle beyond 70% with no braking.That Lexus SUV must have taken off like a SpaceX rocket ship. That is the nature of the beast a very bad look for Ms. Read."UNFAZED KAREN READ STARES DOWN LINGERING QUESTIONS ABOUT 'DOG BITES,' TEXTS WITH RETRIAL READY FOR KICKOFF"So the only evidence of contact is nowhere near the upper taillight," Welcher said. "I emphasize the word upper taillight because it is right in line with the lower taillight, but yet the lower taillight was also not broken."The crash expert testified he performed his own experiment with a vehicle that is the same make and model as Reads SUV to investigate the possible cause of scratch marks found on OKeefes arm.Upon learning he was roughly the same height and weight as OKeefe, Welcher covered the taillight in paint before reenacting a vehicle strike, with video footage indicating the paint left marks on his arm in the same area as OKeefes injuries.FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X"The location orientation of the laceration on OKeefes right forearm and arm are consistent with the geometry and orientation of the right taillight of [Reads SUV]," Welcher said.Welcher testified he also studied the nature of injuries sustained by assaults, telling Brennan his investigation led him to conclude that OKeefe was struck by Reads SUV."Based on all the evidence you considered," Brennan said, "could you share with the jury what your opinion is, to a reasonable degree of engineering certainty, about whether the defendant's Lexus struck Mr. O'Keefe on Jan. 29, 2022, around 12:32 a.m.?"SIGN UP TO GET TRUE-CRIME NEWSLETTER"Based on the totality of the evidence, DNA, everything I've talked about, that is consistent with that happening," Welcher said. "With a reasonable degree of scientific certainty, that is what happened."Welchers testimony served to further solidify the data findings by Burgess and Cellebrite expert Ian Whiffin, who previously took the stand as witnesses for the prosecution in Reads case.The prosecution is expected to rest its case this week after an entire day of Welchers direct examination. If convicted of the top charge, second-degree murder, Read faces the possibility of life in prison."So far, without cross-examination, the defense is having a bad day," Lu said.
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