May 22, 2008

AUGUSTA, Ga.--- An eyewitness to a car crash involving State Representative Ben Harbin is speaking out after a month of developments in the DUI case.

Representative Harbin's latest court hearing was delayed again. An Atlanta police officer explained why he missed a critical court appearance, and for the first time an eyewitness to the car crash tells what he saw that night.

Harbin is an influential state lawmaker who has been in the Statehouse for 14 years. He's also chairman of the Appropriations Committee. But Representative Harbin ran into trouble exactly one year ago this week.

The incident report from may 20th 2007 spells it all out. It was 1:12 in the morning on a long stretch of Memorial Drive near downtown Atlanta. Not very far from the capitol.

Harbin tells the officer he saw a pedestrian in the road, slammed on brakes and swerved his Nissan Maxima into a power pole.

A witness named Tim Malcom says it actually took two poles to stop Harbin's car. He says the first pole was snapped in half. "The top half of the pole was hanging from the wires," Malcom says, "he struck the next pole and that's what stopped his car."

As far as Harbin;s claim that he swerved to miss someone in the road, Malcom also says the street was clear that night and he never heard the squealing of brakes.

"I didn't see any other vehicles on the road. No pedestrians.There are streetlights on the corner and it would have been easy to see if there was someone in the road."

Back to the police report- the officer notes a strong odor of alcohol, slurred speech and bloodshot glassy eyes.

After failing a field sobriety test, the police report says an EMS crew took Harbin to Grady Hospital where he refused to take a blood test.

Attorney Jim Duncan specializes in DUI cases in Augusta.

Duncan says, "In cases where you have someone doing a field sobriety test, if a person performs poorly on them, that would be a detriment to your case..."

So if Harbin performed so poorly, how did he get to keep his license? News 12 took a closer look at the court files and found out. It 's because the arresting officer failed to appear in court.

That officer is a man named Brian French and News 12 spoke to him by phone. He told us he would be suspended if he did an on-camera interview, but says he didn't show up in court because he got a document suggesting the hearing was being delayed.

He missed the hearing and so the motion to suspend Ben Harbin's drivers license was dropped. Officer French was not happy about the mix-up.

Harbin's attorney, Robert Highsmith says that document was simply a Motion for Continuance. In other words a request for a delay that was denied. Oddly enough- there's not a copy of this motion in the case file.

Since then its been delay after delay, seven of them now, stretching out over a year.

DUI attorney Jim Duncan says, "sometimes it can be very quickly, sometimes it can take a year- a year and a half- it just depends."

Politically speaking--- the timing here is also interesting. Harbin's only opponent is an under-funded and little known candidate. He's an Army veteran and high school teacher named Lee Benedict. It's David versus Goliath.

"I guess everyone's afraid to run against someone like Ben Harbin," Benedict said.

There's no democrat in the race, so whoever wins the July 15th Republican primary--- wins the seat in Atlanta.

Benedict said, "I resent being asked by the Republican hierarchy not to run. You would think you would want good Republican candidates to run."

Harbin's next court hearing is set for June 24th. The GOP primary will happen in July.

In all fairness, Harbin's side is not responsible for all of the delays. Both sides asked for this latest delay.

Harbin has not spoken publicly about the DUI, but he says he's anxious to sit down and talk about all this - after the legal issues are resolved.