Warden testifies he wasn't driving car involved in fatal wreck

VIENNA, Ill. -- A prison warden charged with reckless and drunken driving testified Friday he was the passenger -- not the driver -- when a state-owned car crashed into a tree, killing the other occupant.

Former Shawnee Correctional Center warden William Barham has maintained for a year he wasn't the driver of the 2000 Chevy Impala that crashed into a tree in the early hours of Oct. 15, 2000, on Illinois 147, about a half-mile north of Simpson.

Instead, Shawnee dietary manager Jerry Isom, who died in the crash, was driving, Barham testified on the 17th day of his Johnson County trial.

Barham said that, after leaving a bar in Harrisburg, he drove to a nearby convenience store to pick up a newspaper. Isom was the passenger at the time. Barham said that after he purchased the newspaper, Isom got into the driver's seat. Barham said he fell asleep.

"As I laid down, I said, 'Wake me when we get to Vienna,"' Barham said. "The next thing I knew, I wake up in the hospital."

The men had attended a political fund-raiser earlier that night.

Barham also disputed prosecutors' claims that he was drunk, saying he could recall drinking only two beers that night. The beers were on a bar tab introduced into the trial as evidence last week. Barham said he was recovering from a fever, chills, and respiratory problems that night.

Assistant State's Attorney Alan McIntyre accused Barham of lying, saying evidence shows he was intoxicated when the car crashed into the tree.

"I don't think it's consistent with the evidence," McIntrye told reporters. "I don't think it (Barham's testimony) was truthful."

A blood test showed Barham to have the equivalent of a .082 blood-alcohol content, above the state limit of .08.

Defense attorney Randy Patchett said a blood-alcohol test taken after the crash indicated that Barham was not legally drunk.

The trial's closing arguments are scheduled to begin Tuesday in Saline County seat of Harrisburg.