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Day one of testimony in Greis trial includes emotional testimony, photos from scene of crash that killed five


By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor

The first day of testimony in the trial of Daniel Greis was filled with emotional witness statements, graphic photos from the scene and tears from members of the Pollitt and Malohn families in the courtroom.

Daniel Greis turns back to look at family members in the courtroom during day one of his trial. He is charged with five counts of murder in the deaths of a family, in an accident on Staffordsburg Road in Kenton County in October (photos by Mark Hansel).

Greis, 58, is charged with five counts of murder in the deaths of Samantha Malohn, 27, her fiancé, Rodney Pollitt Jr., 26, and Halieann, 9, Brenden, 8, and Callie Pollitt, 6, the couple’s three children.

All were declared dead at the scene of a head-on crash on Staffordsburg Road in Southern Kenton County in October.

The trial is taking place in the Kenton County courtroom of Circuit Judge Patricia Summe.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders and Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Maria Schletker, and defense attorney Stacey Kraus set out to support the opening statements they delivered to the jury Tuesday afternoon.

The Commonwealth contends Greis was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana when the Honda Pilot he was driving. which was on the wrong side of the road crashed into a Honda Accord containing the Pollitts and Malohn.

“He was drunk and high when he got behind the wheel,” Schletker said in her opening statement Tuesday. “He was speeding, tailgating and crossed the center line.”

Graus said Tuesday that while Greis may have been over the legal limit (a blood-alcohol test registered .089) he was not impaired and that road rage caused the accident.

Graus said another motorist, Jesse Phillips, would not allow Greis to pass and that’s how he wound up in the wrong lane and struck the other vehicle.

“The crash data retrieval. . .will show that three seconds before impact, Dan Greis had his foot down all the way on that pedal,” Graus said. “Why, why would he do that?”

Left to right, Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Maria Schletker and defense attorney Stacey Graus confer with Judge Patricia Summe.

Passing is not permitted on the section of Staffordsburg Road where the accident occurred.

The Commonwealth Attorney’s office spent much of Wednesday morning calling witnesses and first responders who arrived at the scene soon after the crash.

All described a horrific crash scene.

As witnesses began to provide information on the condition of the Pollitt family in graphic detail, some became very emotional and family members wept openly in the courtroom.

There was testimony that the impact of the crash forced the engine block into the front seat of the car where Rodney Pollitt and Samantha Malohn were seated. The injuries were so extensive and severe, witnesses and first responders knew almost immediately that no one in the vehicle survived.

The impact ripped the roof off of the Honda Accord and the damage was so extensive, Jeremy Miller, a Fed Ex contractor who was one of the first to arrive at the scene, said he thought the vehicle was a two-seater. He was not immediately aware that there were children in the car.

Defense attorney Stacey Graus and Judge Patricia Summe wait for testimony to resume in the trial of Daniel Greis Wednesday.

Daniel Terry, who lives nearby and was collecting firewood when he heard the crash, called 911 after coming upon the scene. He said “the mess that it was…,” the car “looked like it had been blown up or something.”

The Northern Kentucky Tribune has chosen not to show photos of the crash scene or to include the more graphic details of the injuries sustained by the victims out of respect for the families.

Independence Firefighter Paramedic Laura Maines treated Greis at the scene and said she noticed an odor of alcohol on him. She testified that Greis told her he had “a couple of drinks” that day.

Defense attorney Graus questioned witnesses about the correlation between drinking and impairment, whether Greis smelled of marijuana and if they had any way of knowing when he had last smoked it. The questions seemed to be designed to support his argument that Greis was not impaired at the time of the crash.

Kenton County Police Officer Curtis Bush also responded to the scene and assisted in the treatment of Greis.

“While I was down close to him, I noticed a smell of alcohol on his breath,” Bush said. “I also noticed a baggie of green plant material (that) based on my training and experience, I recognized to be marijuana, on the ground next to him.”

Tests later confirmed there were 3.6 grams of marijuana near Greis at the crash scene.

Greis also suffered injuries and was transported from the scene and later to UC Medical Center in Cincinnati. Bush interviewed him at the hospital and said Greis admitted to drinking at Hickory Sticks Golf Course and smoking marijuana that day.

“While golfing at the turn, he had a double shot of Maker’s Mark on the rocks,” Bush said. “He also said that he had smoked marijuana earlier in the day, that morning.”

Much of the afternoon testimony was spent establishing the chain of custody for the blood and urine samples collected from Greis. Significant in this testimony, was the type of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, found in Greis’s blood. It indicated the marijuana had been ingested fairly recently, but an exact time could not be determined.

The day’s last witness was Sgt. Aaron Schihl of the Kenton County Police Department accident reconstruction unit, who provided important details about the seconds just before the crash.

Schihl testified that a device inside the Honda Pilot was able to determine the speeds at which Greis was traveling in the five seconds before impact.

The Pollitt family, all of whom were killed in a crash on Staffordsburg Road in Kenton County in October.

During that time, Greis was traveling at speeds ranging from 83 to 86 miles per hour and never applied the brake. His foot did not leave the gas pedal in the three seconds before the impact with the Pollitt vehicle.

Crash scene photos also showed that at no time did the Pollitt vehicle stray from the proper lane it was traveling in prior to, or at the time of, the crash.

The final two readings from the Honda Pilot suggested Greis was traveling between 92 and 96 miles per hour, but Schihl said that is not accurate.

Greis crested a hill just before impact and Schihl said the higher readings were achieved because there was no friction from tires on the asphalt. In layman’s terms, Schihl determined that Greis was traveling so fast, his car became airborne when it crested the hill. Schihl estimated the actual rate of speed at the time of impact at 86 miles per hour in an area where the unposted speed limit is 55 miles per hour.

Today, the Commonwealth Attorney is expected to call three key witnesses, Phillips, the driver of the vehicle that was traveling in the same direction as Greis prior to the crash, an accident recreation specialist, and an expert who will testify to the effects of drug and alcohol, while driving.

Contact Mark Hansel at news@nkytrib.com


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One Comment

  1. Ronald Hamilton says:

    They should charge Jesse Phillips with SOMETHING. One idiot on the road is always bad enough, but two? Something bad is bound to happen.

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