Truck driver testifies in trial for fatal crash

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- In more than five years as a professional trucker, Adam Ahlberg said he's driven extensively in the West.

In all his travels, the steepest road he recalls driving is the northern end of Archibald Avenue in Rancho Cucamonga -- where four years ago he lost control of his truck and collided with a city vehicle, killing the driver, Angel Calzada.

"The Grapevine is steep, but Archibald is much steeper," Ahlberg said.

Ahlberg, 30, testified about the June 16, 2006 crash today, during his vehicular manslaughter trial in West Valley Superior Court.

Prosecutors accuse the Riverside man and his employer -- Clark Grading, Inc. -- of failing to properly repair the truck's recurring brake problems. The company's trial is set to begin next month.

During his cross-examination of Ahlberg, Deputy District Attorney Charles Feibush showed jurors more than a dozen repair requests written by the driver in the weeks leading up to the crash -- all complaining of air leaks in the truck's compressed-air brake system.

But according to Ahlberg's testimony, the truck's brake system was working well the day of the accident.

He said he inspected the three-axle 1989 Peterbilt truck at the start of his shift, and had no problems braking in 90 miles of driving prior to losing control of his truck.

Ahlberg said he traveled to the northern end of Archibald to dump dirt at a job site. The gate at the job site was locked, so he turned back with the dirt still in his truck bed.

After he turned south onto Archibald, the driver said engine seemed to be overworked as it descended, so he attempted to switch gears.

But the transmission apparently failed to catch, leaving the truck in neutral, Ahlberg testified.

"The brake pedal had no kickback," he said.

Ahlberg said he flashed his lights and sounded his truck's air horn as he sped down Archibald, running through stop signs and red lights at speeds of up to 70 mph.

"I tried to get the truck in gear all the way to Arrow," he said.

He said he sideswiped a car as he passed a 210 Freeway entrance.

"I was pretty terrified at this point," Ahlberg said.

He said he was so fixated on traffic ahead of him that he didn't look for objects such as trees or walls to maneuver into in hopes of ending his truck's descent.

Ahlberg said the signal was green as he approached Arrow Route, but it changed when he was about a quarter-mile away. He recalled seeing cross-traffic at the intersection begin to move.

He hit a bus and a pole at the intersection before colliding with Calzada's Ford F-250. The 51-year-old city employee was pronounced dead at the scene.

About two weeks prior to the crash, Ahlberg's truck was pulled aside for an inspection at a weigh station in Temucula.

The truck required extra repairs, including repairs to its brake system, before Ahlberg was allowed to drive from the station, Feibush said in his cross-examination.

Ahlberg appeared to grow uncomfortable on the witness stand as the prosecutor projected the driver's repair requests in the courtroom.

Twenty different times in the six weeks leading up to the crash, Ahlberg complained in the documents about an air leak in his brake system.

Yet each morning, the company's mechanics would place his vehicle in the "lineup" for daily use, so Ahlberg said he assumed it had been repaired.

"In the morning there would be no leak, so I'd assume they fixed the problem," Ahlberg said.

Attorneys are expected to give closing arguments in the case Wednesday.