Manslaughter trial postponed 2 weeks Ex-Patten man died on California road

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The trial of a California man charged with manslaughter in the death of a former Patten man has been postponed two weeks.

Wayne H. Birmingham Jr., 40, formerly of Patten, who was living in Huntington Beach, Calif., was killed May 12 when a car driven by Michael Andrew Hallowell, 23, of Santa Maria, Calif., allegedly made a U-turn in front of Birmingham’s motorcycle.

Paula Bouckaert, the deputy district attorney for Santa Barbara County, said Wednesday night that Hallowell’s trial has been tentatively postponed to Tuesday, Sept. 4, in Santa Barbara County Superior Court. Judge William Gordon will hear the case.

The trial had originally been scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 22.

Bouckaert did not say why the trial had been postponed.

Bouchaert said the vehicular manslaughter charge is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of one year in the county jail.

Hallowell also has been charged with reckless driving resulting in bodily injury to a person. That charge also is a misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of six months in jail, Bouckaert said.

The reckless driving charge was filed as a result of injuries suffered by Linda Esser, who was a passenger on Birmingham’s 2000 Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Esser told police she remembers nothing of the accident, other than seeing a vehicle turn in front of the motorcycle.

According to reports filed by the Santa Barbara police, Hallowell allegedly was making a U-turn on Calle Real and did not see Birmingham and Esser as they were traveling west in the left lane behind him.

Hallowell has maintained that he was making a lane change, not a U-turn. Eyewitnesses, including a passenger in Hallowell’s car, have refuted his claim.