Witnesses describe crash scene as trial continues in death of Sharon Schuman

After a vehicle left the road and collided with Sharon Schuman on the Amazon Trail, multiple bystanders tried to help, according to their court testimony Wednesday, April 1. But each of them said Schuman was beyond saving.

On the second day of the manslaughter trial of Scott Stolarczyk in Lane County Circuit Court, jurors heard witnesses describe their recollections of the crash. They also heard from Stolarczyk through police body cam videos played in court.

“I don’t remember any part of leaving the road or what happened with the car,” Stolarczyk told Ryan Trullinger, a Eugene police detective, hours after the fatal collision, according to video played in court.

Stolarczyk, 52, is on trial after being indicted on charges of second-degree manslaughter and driving under the influence of intoxicants in connection with the April 23, 2025, crash that killed Schuman, 79. The trial is expected to last at least through Friday.

A Toyota RAV4 driven by Stolarczyk left Amazon Parkway near 25th Avenue, traveling over grass to a barked jogging trail where Schuman was struck and killed. The vehicle eventually came to rest on its side, according to testimony.

Schuman was a professional violinist and a well-known figure in the Eugene arts community. Her son and daughter, Ben Schuman and Rebecca Schuman, along with others who knew her, have attended both days of the trial.

Blood alcohol concentration

David Jampolsky, a prosecutor with the Lane County District Attorney’s Office, introduced evidence to jurors that Stolarczyk had a blood alcohol content level of 0.196 based on a hospital blood draw taken at 10:26 a.m., roughly 40 minutes after the crash. The legal blood alcohol content limit is 0.08.

Jennifer Saldana, a forensic scientist with the Oregon State Police, testified that consuming six to 7½ 12-ounce cans of beer (with a 6% alcohol content) would lead to such a blood content level.

Jurors also saw video of Stolarczyk’s response when asked by police on the day of the crash about his alcohol consumption.

Stolarczyk told an officer he had consumed an apple cider alcoholic beverage before going to sleep at 10 p.m. the night before the collision, then another after waking early at about 2:30 a.m. the morning of the crash.

Jampolsky asked Saldana if it “would be at all possible” for someone to have one can of a beverage with a 6% alcohol content at 2:30 a.m. and then have a resulting blood alcohol content level of 0.196% at about 10:30 a.m., to which Saldana said, “No.”

John Kolego, a defense attorney for Stolarczyk, objected to the introduction of the results from the hospital blood draw. But Lane County Circuit Judge Debra Vogt allowed the evidence to be presented. 

Saldana testified that opening the vial containing the blood before it arrived for testing could affect the results, though she said opening the vial and exposing the sample to oxygen would likely result in a lower blood alcohol content upon analysis.

She also testified that the hospital, because it likely drew the blood to run medical tests, would also likely have opened the vial.

Stolarczyk’s comments

One video played in court — obtained from Eugene police officer body cameras — was recorded within minutes of the crash. It showed Stolarczyk sitting near the trail, with blood on his forehead, nose and mouth area.

“Like I said before, I had problems in the past with what has been defined as coughing syncope, coughing attacks,” Stolarczyk is heard saying in the footage from the camera worn by Noelan Smith, a Eugene police officer.

During Tuesday’s opening statements, Kolego told jurors they will hear later in the trial from a nurse practitioner to discuss how pressure on one’s diaphragm from coughing can result in passing out.

Another video showed Stolarczyk speaking to an officer while lying on his back and wearing a neck collar at a hospital.

“For a while now I’ve had some chest congestion and sinus issues … episodes where I get a lot of coughing going on at once, and it creates lightheadedness,” Stolarczyk says at one point to Matthew Grose, a Eugene police officer.

Stolarczyk later spoke with Trullinger in a third video played for jurors, making the comment about not remembering leaving the roadway.

“I woke up, I was inside,” the vehicle on its side, Stolarczyk told Trullinger, stating he climbed out of the SUV through the sunroof.

“I’ve been coughing all morning and yesterday … [with] some lightheaded spells,” Stolarczyk says in the video.

Bystanders react

Three bystanders testified about coming upon the crash, and jurors also heard a 911 call for help.

Patrick Connelly testified via a remote video link that he was driving behind the vehicle driven by Stolarczyk.

“I didn’t notice much of the car until he abruptly veered off the road,” Connelly said. The vehicle went “in a very, very straight line through the field and then ultimately to the walking path and striking a person,” he said.

“It did not appear to slow down at all, and I can’t say for certain, but if anything, it appeared to almost speed up,” Connelly said.

Connelly also described coming across Schuman and kneeling down to perform CPR, but quickly realizing that she was dead.

Emily Carrington testified about driving perhaps two cars behind and seeing a vehicle that had left the road as it “had caught some air, hit her and then drove into the tree-line and flipped onto its side.”

Kolego asked Connelly if he had seen the vehicle in front of him speed or if he had noticed any other “bad driving,” to which Connelly said no. The defense attorney asked Carrington if she had observed anyone “serving in and out of their lanes,” to which she said she didn’t remember seeing such driving.

Jurors heard an audio recording of Carrington’s 911 call. Rebecca Schuman left the courtroom before the recording was played, and hours later, both she and Ben Schuman left the courtroom before jurors saw body cam video from an officer investigating the scene.

Among other witnesses, Jessica Blancas, a phlebotomist who said she performed a hospital blood draw on Stolarczyk, said she recalled him as cooperative and polite.

“He told me it was his first car accident he’d ever had [and] it had to be like this,” Blancas said.