A mechanic who examined Carlos Fierro's 2004 BMW 530i said it had sustained enough damage before and after striking a pedestrian last November that it would be considered "close to totaled."

The left front shock absorber was broken and the suspension damaged. A bolt that supported the engine had been sheared off. The left back wheel was broken, the left front wheel bent and the car's frame damaged, said Ian Clemmer, a certified master technician at Santa Fe BMW.

The car would have had to hit a curb at a speed between 30 mph and 40 mph to sustain that kind of damage, Clemmer testified Thursday, the fourth day of Fierro's trial on vehicular homicide and causing a fatal accident.

In addition, there was the smashed windshield — damage apparently left by 46-year-old William Tenorio's body when he was struck while trying to cross Guadalupe Street on the night before Thanksgiving.

Other than bullets, Clemmer said, he'd never seen anything actually go through the windshield of that model of BMW. He estimated that an object would have to be at least as large and heavy as a bowling ball — about 40 pounds — to make the kind of hole he saw in the windshield.

Finally, based on a photo police took of the headlight switch inside the BMW after the crash, Clemmer said, the headlights were off. At the time he examined the car, Clemmer said, he didn't try to determine whether the headlights were on or off because he was never asked to do so.

Testimony resumes today in the case, in which Fierro's lawyers have admitted the attorney was driving drunk the night he hit Tenorio and then drove away.

Before Clemmer testified Thursday afternoon, jurors walked out to a back parking lot at the District Court complex in downtown Santa Fe to view Fierro's BMW up close.

Defense lawyers had objected to the viewing, saying the vehicle wasn't exactly same after sitting for 10 months in the Santa Fe Police Department's impound lot.

District Attorney Angela "Spence" Pacheco argued that jurors should be allowed to see "the murder weapon."

"We believe it is the best evidence," Pacheco said.

Vigil allowed the viewing, but not before he and the lawyers inspected the car and compared it to pictures taken just after the crash. Differences noted by the judge and the lawyers included the fact that the right rear-view mirror, which initially had been hanging off the car, had fallen completely off. Also, blood spatter on the passenger-side panel and one of the car's rims no longer was present and the hole in the windshield had grown larger.

Vigil told jurors about the differences and said they should rely on the photos for an accurate representation of the car's condition just after the crash. The judge did not allow reporters, photographers or court spectators to attend the jury's viewing.

Kristin Radecki, a forensic scientist with the state Department of Public Safety's crime lab, testified that at the time of the crash she found drops of Tenorio's blood on a sleeve of Fierro's passenger— former state police Sgt. Alfred Lovato. Lovato's DNA also was found on a Coors Light beer can in the BMW's glove box.

John Romero, a forensic toxicologist with the state's Scientific Laboratory Division, testified that he tested a blood sample drawn from Fierro after the crash and found it had a blood-alcohol content of .21, more than 2 1/2 times the legal limit for drivers.

The last witness of the day was Santa Fe police Detective Tony Trujillo, who showed the jury the clothing Tenorio was wearing when he was struck. The detective held up a black, trench coat-like jacket, a pair of black slacks, a black shirt and a pair of black leather shoes. Tenorio was only wearing one shoe when he was taken to the hospital, Trujillo said. The other was found in the street.

All the items except the shoes were in tatters, Trujillo said, because paramedics had cut them off Tenorio while trying to treat him.

Tenorio family members seated in the courtroom wept as the detective retrieved the clothing from sealed, brown-paper evidence bags and showed the items to jurors.

The prosecution could rest its case today. Defense lawyers expect to call only two witnesses: an accident reconstruction expert and Fierro.

Contact Jason Auslander at 986-3076 or jauslander@sfnewmexican.com.