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Caltrans officials, as part of a re-enactment of a crash that killed a deputy in 2006, tried to sell a videotape of the scenario to prosecutors in the case against Daniel Patrick Willsey, and not the defense.

That was one of several issues discussed Wednesday morning in court where a judge denied the defense’s request to subpoena Caltrans officials and their findings of the re-enactment.

The district attorney’s office did not accept the offer to buy the tape, and informed the defense about the offer. A judge denied the subpoena because Caltrans officials are in Sacramento and there is a 150-mile limit to a subpoena, and also because the district attorney’s office did not take the video offer.

The defense was apparently not invited to the re-enactment, and only the district attorney’s office, Sheriff’s investigators and Caltrans participated. It was part of their civil suit involving Hudnall’s wife, who is suing Willsey and the state over claims that the passing zone where the crash took place is not long enough.

Willsey, a Los Angeles attorney, is accused of swerving into oncoming traffic on Highway 178 through the Kern River Canyon in November 2006. His BMW collided head-on with a Ford Bronco driven by on-duty Deputy Joe Hudnall, who was transporting a prisoner into Bakersfield.

Willsey filed a claim against the county claiming the accident was Hudnall's fault.

Sheriff’s investigator Trent Sproles testified Wednesday that he was asked to be the driver in a Sheriff’s vehicle for the re-enactment. In the passenger seat sat a district attorney’s office employee, and the backseat a Caltrans official videotaping.

For the re-enactment, he drove at speeds of 55 mph and 65 mph through a portion of the Highway 178 in the canyon while Caltrans officials measured and videotaped, Sproles said. A BMW was also used and officials videotaped from that car as well.

They shut down the highway for about three hours.

Defense attorney Fred Gagliardini brought up was the fact that the Sheriff’s investigator and a county patrol vehicle participated in the re-enactment on county time. He said he found it “highly suspect” that a Sheriff’s investigator involved in the case against Willsey participated in the re-enactment.

Among other discussions in the courtroom Wednesday:

• Willsey arrived a few minutes late. The judge said he understood that the buses he rides from Los Angeles sometimes aren’t on schedule.

• Prosecutor Melissa Allen's pregnancy might delay the trial even more than it already has been. She and Gagliardini also acknowledged that because of this high-profile case, it would be difficult to find jurors. The case has been repeatedly delayed thanks to destroyed blood evidence and the appointment of new attorneys, among other reasons.

A trial date is scheduled for March 2.

— Jorge Barrientos, Breaking News Reporter