Deliver to:
Uniform patrol commander Maj. James Schwab, captain
919-684-5868

Affidavit of James Richard Berg, 10/31/2003:

On the afternoon of Tuesday 10/28/2003, I was leaving my parking spot behind the North Building, expecting to turn left out of the parking driveway onto the LSRC service road. Before I reached the end of the driveway, a large white commercial truck began backing from the right into the driveway, presumably to turn around and exit in front of me. When he did not slow down, however, I realized he was intended to back up to the North Building loading dock behind me. I honked my horn, but he did not stop in time; my car was struck. To be clear: my car was stationary at the time with foot on the brake and clutch disengaged. This occurred at approximately 14:42.

I backed into a parking spot and he moved his truck toward the LSRC out of the way. We exited our vehicles and exchanged pleasantries. Having been struck in parking-lot encounters before, I immediately retrieved a notebook and pen from my car. We first proceeded to his truck where I took down his name, license plate, and insurance information (the company, their phone number, his company #, his policy #). At some point during this process Mr. Knight expressed a desire to call his boss, so I lent him my cell phone. According to Sprint PCS logs, this call occurred at 14:45, lasting 5 minutes. I briefly spoke to Mr. Knight's boss before hanging up; he was apologetic -- "don't worry, this happens all the time" -- and gave me his name and both his cellphone and office phone numbers.

We then began to record my information. Mr. Knight produced a disposable camera and took pictures of the front of my car from about 6-7 angles. I began to offer my contact information, but Mr. Knight needed a pen and paper, so I ripped a sheet from my notebook and lent him the pen I had used. I gave my name and cell phone number; we walked around the back of the vehicle where he wrote down my license plate. He did not ask for my insurance information, but I did not press the issue since it seemed obvious to both parties that his insurance would be handling the claim. He returned my cell phone and pen, then asked whether I wanted to stay and file a police report. I stated that I would like a police report for my records, but would like to attend to a prior obligation if possible. He offered to stay behind and complete the report. We shook hands, and I left the scene at about 14:55.

Later that day, while conversing with the delivery company's insurance company, it became evident that I needed more information to proceed. I then called Mr. Knight's boss again, whereupon he gave me the company information I requested. Sprint PCS records this call as lasting from 16:28-16:32.

The next contact I had with this case was the afternoon of 10/29/2003. Officer K. Ellerby informed me by phone that I was being charged with hit-and-run because I had not left my insurance information with Mr. Knight. I asked him why he did not simply call my cell phone when faced with completing his report at the scene, and he replied that Mr. Knight had not volunteered this information. I then went to retrieve my copy of the citation from the police station. When Officer Ellerby arrived he gave me the citation and asked whether I wanted to file a motor vehicle incident report. I was confused by this request and tentatively told him no. Later that night, I called the clerk to ask why an incident report had not already been filed. She replied that indeed there had been one, and I could pick up a copy the next day.

The afternoon of 10/30/2003 I returned to the station and was given a copy of this report. It was then that I first learned of Mr. Knight's claims, chiefly that I had allegedly caused the collision, and that he had been forced to get my license plate as I sped off. I then contacted my parents with this information and began the process of retaining a local criminal defense lawyer.

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