Expert cites psychotic episodes

Attorneys defending an Irvine woman accused of vehicular manslaughter in an accident that killed an Eastbluff Elementary School teacher is expected to rest their case on Monday.

Defense attorney Gary Pohlson on Thursday aimed to shore up earlier testimony with a second psychiatrist testifying that 53-year-old Janene Johns could have been driving while mentally unconscious when she ran over Candace Tift.

Tift, a 31-year-old Eastbluff Elementary School teacher, was riding her bicycle on West Coast Highway when Johns struck her with her 2006 Lexus. Tift died the next day from severe head injuries. Police found several bottles of prescription medication in the car.

Johns showed symptoms about the time of the accident, psychiatrist Ebtesam Khaled testified Thursday. She said Johns thought she was receiving messages through the TV, was hearing voices, and was paranoid. The symptoms add up to acute stress disorder, Khaled said, echoing testimony from another psychiatrist Wednesday.

It was possible Johns was unaware she was driving when she hit Tift on Aug. 23, 2006, Khaled testified. But, she stopped short of calling that mental state “unconsciousness.” Patients generally experience episodes of unconsciousness in hours or days, but not the minute-to-minute the defense is claiming, Khaled said.

Johns’ state of consciousness, or lack thereof, is key to her defense. The law states a person cannot commit a crime when unconscious, unless it’s drug induced. The defense also tried to insert doubt in the prosecution’s claim Johns was under the influence of prescription drugs too.

An Orange County Sheriff’s toxicology report showed Johns’ blood with enough of the sleeping drug Ambien and cough-suppressant Mucinex in it to have an effect, a forensic scientist said earlier this week.

An outside toxicologist for the defense testified Thursday. His company’s toxicology report, however, proved less substantial.

Toxicologist William Posey said his lab did not receive enough blood to perform follow-up tests for more accurate readings to preliminary results that could have differed with the sheriff’s findings.

Judge Daniel McNerney indicated Thursday the jury will be instructed to consider whether Johns was conscious at the time of the accident when jurors reach their verdict. They are expected to start deliberating early next week.

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com.