Trial scheduled in battery death on San Bernardino freeway

For more details, here is a story The Sun published following a preliminary hearing for Harville:

June 19, 2007
Section: News

Driver to stand trial Man charged with murder in crash on 215

Author: Mike Cruz, Staff Writer

Article Text:

SAN BERNARDINO - A San Bernardino man will go to trial for his part in a rollover collision that launched a vehicle battery into opposing traffic on the 215 Freeway, killing a motorist.

Kevin Harville, whose Ford Explorer rolled over on the 215 near Mill Street on Oct. 24, had prior violent run-ins with his ex-girlfriend leading up to the collision that killed 30-year-old Shawn Billings Kettlewell, a CHP officer testified in court Monday.

Harville and his ex-girlfriend, Rolanda Hill, dated for about three months, but she ended the relationship after Harville got physical and started threatening her, Officer Philip Apodaca testified.

On the morning of the crash, Harville showed up at the woman's house and demanded that she come outside, but Hill refused, said Apodaca.

Later that morning, when Harville pulled up alongside Hill's Ford Expedition at a traffic light at Base Line and H Street, Harville continued his efforts to get the woman's attention.

"He was yelling at her and trying to get her to pull over," Apodaca said the woman told him. "She was just trying to get away."

Witnesses said Harville's Explorer bumped and rammed the woman's vehicle multiple times as they got on and continued south on the freeway.

Superior Court Judge James Dorr determined there was enough evidence to hold Harville to answer to charges of murder, attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats and other special enhancements, after a hearing in San Bernardino Superior Court.

Deputy Public Defender Sam Knudsen disputed the prosecution's attempts to paint the 35-year-old Harville as the aggressor. Harville's employer reported that Hill showed up at his work, sat outside and flipped him off - even after reporting that she feared Harville, Apodaca said.

Knudsen also showed, just before the crash, that Hill made a right turn in front of Harville, cutting him off, to get on the freeway on-ramp.

Knudsen declined to comment after the hearing about the day's proceedings, but did say Harville had invested in and customized his Explorer, as part of a car club.

Prosecutor Colin Bilash showed in court that Harville had several prior clashes with Hill leading up to the crash. The defendant has prior convictions for kidnapping and burglary, according to court records.

Last July, Harville pulled Hill's hair and grabbed her and choked her during an argument, Apodaca explained. But she did not report it to police.

By August, Hill had enough and told Harville to leave the house where he stayed with her. When he threatened her, she called police and Harville was arrested. But that case was later dismissed.

Not long after the arrest, Harville spotted Hill on Redlands Boulevard and tried using his car to stop her. "He had cut her off and tried to speak to her," Apodaca said.

All that led to the October incident, when Harville showed up at Hill's house and then ended up next to her vehicle on Base Line, in San Bernardino.

Hill told officers she turned right onto the southbound 215 on-ramp. The Explorer bumped her SUV while on the on-ramp, but then forcefully rammed it again on the freeway.

One motorist told authorities it appeared like the driver of the Explorer "tried to kill" the other driver, Apodaca testified.

According to authorities, Hill stopped her Expedition after the Explorer cut her off. But Harville lost control, struck the guardrail and rolled over several times, according to earlier reports.

Among the car parts and debris flying into the northbound traffic lanes was the vehicle's battery, which slammed through the windshield of Kettlewell's truck, according to CHP officers.

Emergency personnel declared Kettlewell, a Riverside resident, dead at the scene.

Bilash declined to comment after the hearing. Harville is scheduled to return to court again on June 26 for a formal arraignment.

Contact writer Mike Cruz at (909) 386-3880 or via e-mail at mike.cruz@sbsun.com.

(c) 2007 The Sun. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.