January Trial Set for Driver Who Crashed Into Brooks Patterson

The trial of a Royal Oak man charged with three misdemeanor counts in an August crash involving Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson was set for Jan. 11 after a hearing Thursday in 52-3 District Court.

Anthony Prainito, 31, the driver of the Volkswagen Passat that Patterson's Chrysler 300 crashed into at the intersection of Walton Boulevard and Opdyke Road in Auburn Hills, is charged with three counts of moving violation causing serious impairment of a bodily function in the crash. He pleaded not guilty in a Sept. 25 pre-trial hearing.

Prainito's Southfield-based attorney, Joshua Nucian, told Judge Lisa Asadoorian that he expects to call as many as 15-16 witnesses, including an eyewitness to the crash. Asadoorian granted a motion for discovery on evidence of all of the 911 calls made Aug. 10, the date of the crash, including one in which Nucian said that a witness saw Patterson's car run a red light at the intersection.

Nucian was also granted the chance to investigate background information on all of the people who called 911. Asadoorian denied Nucian's motion to hold an evidentiary hearing on the witnesses' statement; instead, it is expected to be offered as witness testimony.

Among other pieces of evidence the defense may use are the contents of a plastic bottle found in Patterson's car, which was recovered containing an unknown fluid after the crash. The defense will be allowed to inspect a sample of the fluid inside the bottle, which Patterson told Patch was mouthwash.

Asadoorian will investigate all medical records from those involved in the crash — including Patterson, his longtime driver James Cram, and Raymond Recchia, Prainito’s passenger — since the date of the crash. If relevant, Asadoorian will allow the defense to investigate.