KEALAKEKUA — A mangled bicycle and pieces of a vehicle were displayed to the jury Friday in the negligent homicide trial of a former Hawaii Island police officer in Kona Circuit Court as evidence for the state.
The evidence stems from a March 1, 2015, crash on Waikoloa Road, where former police officer Jody Buddemeyer is accused of striking bicyclist Jeffrey Surnow of Michigan, resulting in the 69-year-old’s death.
Deputy Prosecutor Kauanoe Jackson spent Thursday and Friday during the trial submitting photos of the accident scene and physical evidence recovered at that time.
Buddemeyer also is charged with tampering with physical evidence and false reporting to law enforcement. The prosecution asserts the defendant cleaned up the accident scene by hiding broken pieces of his car and damaged bits of Surnow’s bike in the trunk of his subsidized police vehicle.
The prosecution’s case also indicates Buddemeyer allegedly left the scene of the accident and falsely reported the incident when it occurred.
On Friday, Officer Kimo Keliipaakaua with the Hawaii Police Department’s Traffic Enforcement Unit testified about items he recovered from the 2015 accident scene as well as from the Dodge Charger, which he identified to the court as being Buddemeyer’s police vehicle.
Keliipaakaua testified items such as a piece of the vehicle’s bumper, a fender well, the right side mirror and a carbon fiber frame from the bike were found inside Buddemeyer’s police car. In the center console, the officer told the court, a pair of latex gloves also were found.
Other items found in the trunk were a bike light, screws and clip from the Charger and rubber tire pieces.
The officer also displayed the bicycle found at the scene.
Keliipaakaua told the jury he and a few other officers went back to the scene to recreate the accident.
“My role was ride my bike to simulate the scene,” the officer testified. “I was pretty much on the fog line throughout the ride.”
During cross-examination, Buddemeyer’s attorney, Brian De Lima, asked Keliipaakaua about the reconstruction of the accident.
“Would you concede you didn’t wear the same clothing as Mr. Surnow during the re-creation?” he asked.
The officer conceded.
De Lima also asked how soon the reconstruction was conducted after the accident.
“I don’t recall how long ago after the accident, but it was after,” Keliipaakaua said.
The officer also confirmed the bike light that was affixed to Surnow’s bicycle was dead. To use it in the re-creation, Keliipaakaua said, its batteries were replaced.
The officer also testified that when he got to the scene the day of the accident there were still multiple pieces of the bike and vehicle on the roadway.
Keliipaakaua testified there were no reflectors on the pedals of the bicycle.
The trial continues Tuesday.
Email Tiffany DeMasters at tdemasters@westhawaiitoday.com.
