DERBY, Kansas – It was Colby Liston’s first few days as a freshman at KU when a crash left him pinned between two cars.
It cost him both his legs and left his family hoping for justice.
“This should follow him for the rest of his life. I think he should have been a convicted felon,” said Matt Liston, Colby’s father.
Now, a Douglas County judge is suppressing some evidence against the driver.
Namely, a blood test that the prosecution said proved Julian Kuszmaul’s blood alcohol content was three times the legal limit.
Citing a Supreme Court ruling out of Missouri, the judge said that because Kuszmaul refused to consent to the blood test and a search warrant for that blood was never obtained, the results can’t be used in court.
Attorneys say that from a legal standpoint, the judge made the right call.
“There was no warrant. There was no consent, and the state had wholly failed to demonstrate emergency circumstances excusing the need to get a search warrant,” said Attorney Dan Monnat.
But for the Liston’s family, it isn’t enough, and they say the situation at hand is far from over.
“I think something is wrong with the Douglas County system. I don’t know if the attorney general needs to investigate it or something else needs to happen. They have failed not only Colby, but my family in more ways than I can tell you,” said Liston.
Kuszmaul is due back in court on October 22nd when a trial date will be set.
He currently faces charges of second offense DUI, marijuana possession, following too closely and refusing to submit to drug or alcohol testing all misdemeanors.
KSN News – Ashley Arnold