Grasping to shift the blame, he adds Bambi to the story and says he was at half the speed originally stated.

Stuart Elder, the man convicted in the drunken-driving deaths, took the stand Thursday to testify he was driving on Sloat Road in Pebble Beach at about 30 mph, when he saw a deer on the road, prosecutor Meredith Sillman said Monday. Elder then testified he sped onto the opposite side of the road to avoid crashing into the animal, saw the victims and crashed head-on, Sillman said.

“He changed his story at the last minute to fit the evidence that we had brought in,” Sillman said.

Elder’s original story stated Sharon Daly, 72, who was driving the Ford Freestyle with Linda LaRone, 65, as her passenger, cut him off, which led to the crash. Elder was the only person the defense called to testify, Sillman said.

Stuart Elder Changes His Story

Fifteen years? Only fifteen years.

Stuart Elder, a 31-year-old builder, faces up to 15 years in prison for the manslaughter deaths of Linda LaRone, 65, and Sharon Daly, 72. The women were the former owners of a popular Pacific Grove pet shop.

Still the blame shifting continues…:

At trial, Elder’s lawyer Michael Lukehart had argued Daly, who was driving, had also been drinking that night.

Sillman said the responsibility of the two deaths, and injuries to his passenger, were solely Elder’s fault.

Stuart Elder Found Guilty

Denial is more than a long river in Africa.

Elder faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Because investigators did not find previous driving under the influence convictions, he is not facing a life sentence. Elder has a checkered driving history, with more than a dozen traffic citations between 2003 and 2012.

He says we was cut off:

“He said he was cut off by a vehicle and was unable to avoid it, then they collided,” Avila said. “He seemed to be upset, irrational, excited and talkative.”

Then his DUI blood test was unconstitutional:

Prosecutor Meredith Sillman argued that Elder signed a release allowing medics to withdraw blood from his body prior to being jailed, and that the officer acted in conformity with the law. The court agreed with Sillman and admitted the tests as evidence during trial.

Then it was due to the way the road is laid out:

“What if it was a traffic engineering issue? What if others reacted the same way in that area? Since it’s a homicide, perception here is crucial,” he said.

Sillman said “it is just too much” data for her to collect and find exactly what the defense is looking for. The court denied the defense’s motion.

Stuart Elder DUI-Manslaughter Trial Defenses

Hope Elder never drives a car again.

California Highway Patrol officers say that on the evening of the crash, Elder’s Cadillac SUV swerved into an opposing lane of Sloat Road in Pebble Beach. The Cadillac crashed into a 2005 Ford. LaRone and Daly died at the scene. The women were well known locally as former owners of a Pacific Grove pet store.

He was arrested at the scene by CHP officers and released on $430,000 bail.

Elder is charged with two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, plus a special enhancement of causing great bodily injury to his passenger, 20-year-old Selvia Gattas.

Stuart Elder Trial Set

Sharon Daly had been drinking.

Recently, prosecutors and Elder’s attorney revealed that blood tests show Daly had also been drinking prior to the deadly crash, although no details about either driver’s level of intoxication have been made public.

Friends of the two women have expressed frustration about the many months it took to charge Elder after the collision, but his waiving of the preliminary hearing could now speed the process along.

Officials with the district attorney’s office said at least some of the delay was because a “black box” that records braking, speed and other vehicle information was difficult to extract from the women’s car.

Stuart Elder Waives Preliminary Hearing

Michael Lukehart, who represents Elder, said he learned through case discovery documents that “both parties had been consuming alcohol.”

Chief Assistant District Attorney Terry Spitz said the information did not stop his office from pressing charges against Elder.

“That is a fact that we were aware of and we took into account when reviewing the case,” he said. “We were obviously aware of it — we provided the information to the defense.”

LaRone and Daly were in a 2005 Ford driven by Daly when Elder’s Cadillac sport utility vehicle crossed into the opposite lane and into the path of the Ford, the California Highway Patrol said.

Elder, 30 at the time of the crash, was arrested by CHP officers and released on $430,000 bail.

Person Dead In Stuart Elder Crash Was Drinking