A Santa Maria Superior Court judge on Monday declared a mistrial for the Orcutt man charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter due to a fatal crash involving a heavy-duty forklift he drove on a public street.

Judge Karen O’Neil granted the defense motion in the case against David Baskett, 82, on Monday afternoon. The judge also said that on Thursday she intends to dismiss the jurors, consider sanctions and set a new date for the trial.

Baskett has pleaded not guilty to the single misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge stemming from the collision that killed Tiffany Ann Peterson, 39, of Orcutt on the afternoon of May 2, 2024.

Peterson was a passenger in a small truck driven by her father on Skyway Drive when it struck the tines of the rented telehandler, or telescoping forklift, driven by Baskett, who was stopped on Hangar Street near the Santa Maria Public Airport.

As attorneys worked to pick a jury but before opening statements occurred, Santa Maria police officers returned to the crash scene to gather new measurements, photos, video and other details. 

On Friday before opening statements could start, defense attorney Adrienne Harbottle filed a motion objecting to receiving new evidence on the eve of trial. She asked for a mistrial and other measures such as excluding the new evidence.

She argued the late evidence violated her client’s due process and his right to effective counsel.

To be ready for trial, Harbottle said she would need 45 to 60 days because of the new evidence. 

“It’s like I have a brand-new case,” Harbottle told the judge Monday.

A video recording from a Chumash Casino bus taken moments before the crash showed the forklift was protruding into the street significantly farther than the defendant initially told police, Deputy District Attorney Ryan Clausen wrote in his response to the defense motion.

“This is part of a continuing investigation,” Clausen told the judge Monday afternoon. 

The additional work at the crash site occurred after a defense expert claimed the Peterson truck was traveling 76 mph, Clausen said. However the bus driver told investigators his vehicle, which was going 52 mph, and the Peterson truck were traveling at similar speeds. The speed limit for the road is 55 mph.

Video footage from the bus shows the telehandler’s rear tires at the limit line, instead of the front tires being behind the line, Clausen sad.

This meant the forklift tines protruded into the road, causing the Chumash Casino bus driver to change lanes to avoid a collision.

Clausen argued that rather than declaring a mistrial, the judge should instead grant a short continuance to give the defense team additional time.

For the reconstruction, authorities reportedly rented a telehandler and closed a segment of Skyway Drive last week while they worked at the scene.

The judge noted that more than once last week on separate days, she had asked the attorneys if there was anything further they needed to discuss, without being told about the additional investigative efforts at the crash site.

Citing a 1935 case, O’Neil noted “the role of a prosecutor is not that it win a case, but that justice be done.”

While granting a mistrial, the judge said she did not believe double jeopardy existed and that the District Attorney’s Office can continue the criminal case against Baskett.

Baskett served on the Santa Maria Public Airport District board when the fatal crash occurred, but lost his re-election bid on Nov. 5, 2024.

He continues to serve on the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Board of Education.