You are here: Newsletters - Breaking News :: North Coast
rss feed

Published: Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011

Jury selection begins for fatal car crash trial

Driver charged with death of passenger in incident near Hearst airstrip

tool name

close
tool goes here
By Nick Wilson | nwilson@thetribunenews.com

Jury selection began this week in the trial against a Newport Beach man accused of causing a drunken driving car crash in 2009 at Hearst Ranch’s airstrip that killed a passenger.

Defendant Kurt Naegele is being represented by criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos. He previously defended Michael Jackson, Winona Ryder and Scott Peterson.

Naegele, 42, has pleaded not guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter charges and two allegations relating to driving under the influence and causing bodily injury.

The crash killed 38-year-old Darren William Dahlman of Pasadena and injured passengers Christopher H. Pennell and Ryan Robert Doheny, both of Los Angeles.

Authorities allege Naegele was driving a Range Rover an estimated 105 mph or faster leading up to a fatal crash at Hearst Ranch’s airstrip Sept. 18, 2009, according to a search warrant filed by a county District Attorney’s Office investigator.

But Doheny told a CHP officer he thought they were going 35 mph, according to the warrant.

Naegele recorded a blood-alcohol content of 0.16 percent, the CHP said. He faces 10 criminal enhancements that would strengthen his penalty if convicted.

Jury selection in the trial resumes Monday at 1:30 p.m. before Judge Michael Duffy.

About comments

Reader comments on SanLuisObispo.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Tribune. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.

What you should know about comments on SanLuisObispo.com

SanLuisObispo.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. See our full terms of service here.

Here are some rules of the road:

  • Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
  • Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
  • Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
  • Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and leave him a public message.
  • Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
  • Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
  • Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
  • Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.

You should also know that The Tribune does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at webmaster@thetribunenews.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.

If you submit a comment, the username of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to webmaster@thetribunenews.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.

Popular Comment Threads

Our news, your way

Get breaking news on your cell phone

Sign up for breaking news alerts from SanLuisObispo.com and get the latest news sent to your cell phone via text message.

Type in your cell phone number

( ) -

I accept the terms and conditions (click to view)

Keep your phone handy!

Upon hitting the Sign up! button, you will receive a message with a four-digit code at the end. Enter this number on the next screen and press the Confirm button.

Terms and Conditions:

By signing up for alerts from this site, you are signing up for a program that may include up to 5 SMS text alert(s) per alert category per day. There is no service fee charged per month but your carrier's standard text messaging and other charges may apply. You may stop this subscription service at any time by sending the text message "STOP" to 72737. You must be at least thirteen (13) years of age to use our alert services. If you are between 13 and 17 years old, you agree that you have received parental permission both to complete the registration process and to receive SMS content on your cell phone. For help, send the text message "HELP" to 72737. This service will work with ATT, Verizon, Sprint, Nextel, Alltell, US Cellular, Cincinnati Bell, Boost, Virgin Mobile USA, Celluar South, Telos, Centennial, East Kentucky Network, Cellcom, Immix and Rural Celluar.

Quick Job Search
Advanced Job Search | Search by Category
Top Jobs