Former Erie County District Attorney Ed Cosgrove said alcohol consumption had nothing to do with a fatal accident involving a retired state trooper and a mother of two.

The blood from his client, David O’Brien, 68, of 1114 Boulder Ridge Road, Allegany, was most likely drawn at Olean General Hospital 2.5 to three hours following the accident when O’Brien’s blood-alcohol content would have been at its highest, Mr. Cosgrove said in an interview Thursday. That would mean that O’Brien’s blood-alcohol content would have been much lower at the time of the accident, he said.

“This is just another indication that this was an unfortunate accident,” Mr. Cosgrove said.

O’Brien was charged with felony second-degree vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated following a fatal accident April 26 on Route 219 in Carrollton. The accident claimed the life of Wendy Karnes, 38, of Bradford, Pa., formerly of Cuba. O’Brien is free on $1,000 bail.

O’Brien was heading from a United Way Dinner at Moonwinks in Cuba to the Seneca-Allegany Casino in Salamanca where he was as an employee with the New York State Gaming Commission. He left Interstate 86 at Exit 23 and began driving southbound in the northbound lane, according to the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office. He struck a vehicle driven by Mrs. Karnes around 10:30 p.m. Mrs. Karnes was also heading to the casino where she worked as a cashier. She was pronounced dead at the scene. O’Brien was uninjured.

O’Brien may have suffered some sort of medical problem or fell asleep at the wheel, Mr. Cosgrove said. He has launched an investigation into the fatal accident and said he has interviewed witnesses and emergency responders and does not believe alcohol was the cause of the accident, he said.

A Breathalyzer test was not administered at the scene but a blood sample was taken from O’Brien at Olean General Hospital. The sample was tested at the Mid Hudsen Valley Lab in Goshen, near Poughkeepsie.

David W. Foley, Chautauqua County District Attorney, and the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office would not comment about whether the blood results are back and would not reveal the results of the blood test.

O’Brien claimed that his blood-alcohol content was .05 percent in an interview in April. It is not known where he obtained that number. He told Investigator Nathan Root of the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office that he fell asleep at the wheel. He also admitted to Investigator Root that he had “three or four beers,” according to the arrest report the Times Herald obtained through a Freedom of Information request.

Ed Sharkey, Cattaraugus County District Attorney, requested special prosecution for the case as Mr. Sharkey and his assistants know O’Brien. County Court Judge Michael Nenno and Judge Larry Himelein have removed themselves from the case for similar reasons.

Prosecution is being handled by the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office under Grace Hanlon, assistant district attorney. A Cattaraugus County Grand Jury was reportedly supposed to hear evidence Thursday.

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