DEDHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - The defense has rested in the Karen Read retrial with testimony set to continue on Thursday with rebuttal.
An ARCCA crash reconstruction expert was back on the stand Wednesday in the Karen Read murder retrial.
Dr. Andrew Rentschler testified about the tests the engineering consulting firm conducted. The tests looked to replicate the injuries seen on Boston police officer John O’Keefe’s arm with a crash test dummy.
But, Rentschler said his results didn’t match up with what the prosecution says happened to O’Keefe.
Read is accused of killing O’Keefe, her boyfriend, by backing into him with her car after a night of drinking and leaving him to die in the snow in January 2022. Read’s defense argues she is being framed in a police coverup.
Rentschler on Wednesday also pointed out flaws in the tests conducted by the prosecution’s accident reconstruction experts. He took issue with the blue paint test, which aimed to line up the location of O’Keefe’s injuries with being struck by Read’s tail light, as the prosecution’s expert claims.
He said the arm was forced into touching.
“As it comes in, watch the elbow all of a sudden shoot in, surrogate turns his arm in and then leans against the light cover, so this is not indicative of someone standing there and having a car back into their arm. In order to get that pattern of pain on the arm, someone would have to stand there, and as the car approached and contacted their arm, they would have to actually push their arm forward and lean into it,” Rentschler said.
While being shown x-ray images of O’Keefe’s arm, Rentschler noted there was no sign of fracture or even bruising. Rentschler told the jury if O’Keefe’s arm was struck by Read’s car, it would have experienced hundreds of pounds worth of pressure — much greater than the amount you would expect to cause a break.
Special Prosecutor Hank Brennan sought to poke holes in Rentschler’s testimony, asking him how much money he’s making for his analysis and suggesting he’s sidestepping pointed questions.
Read’s first trial ended in a hung jury.
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