‘Mask’ Crash Trial to Begin Soon

On Mar. 11, 2009, Tapout founder Charles “Mask” Lewis was killed in a car accident in Newport Beach, Calif. Twenty months later, the man accused of contributing to Lewis’ death will finally stand trial.

Jeffrey David Kirby, 53, stands charged with gross vehicular manslaughter. The prosecution argues that Kirby, who was allegedly driving under the influence of intoxicants, crashed his vehicle into Lewis’ Ferrari while the two were racing down Newport Beach’s Jamboree Road, causing Lewis to run head-on into a light pole.

Lewis, 46, was killed on impact. His girlfriend, Lacy Lynn White, was thrown from the vehicle and suffered serious injuries, including broken vertebrae and a broken hip. The collision was so severe that the vehicle was cut in half by the force of the crash.

Two hours after the accident, Kirby was found to have a blood alcohol level of .13, well above the legal limit of 0.08. The defendant also had marijuana in his system, according to prosecutors. Kirby has been convicted twice before of driving under the influence, once in 1985 and again in 2002.

Jury selection for the trial should begin later this month before Judge Richard F. Toohey. During trial, Kirby’s defense is expected to assert that Lewis was to blame for the accident, as he was driving both faster than the legal limit and Kirby’s Porsche. Defense attorney Mark Fredrick has stated that Lewis, who was driving in a “reckless and menacing fashion” caused the accident, not Kirby.

In order to earn a conviction for gross vehicular manslaughter, the prosecution must prove that Kirby drove under the influence, committed an infraction with gross negligence and caused the death of another person. Kirby left the scene after stopping briefly at the crash site. He was arrested shortly after the collision took place after parking his car on a side street. Kirby faces the possibility of a sentence enhancement for causing great bodily harm to White.