Jury may hear widow’s testimony in teacher death

A judge has ruled the jury will be allowed to hear testimony that an Irvine woman was grieving over her husband’s death and may not have been aware of her actions when she lost control of her car and struck and killed a Costa Mesa woman riding her bike.

Janene Johns, 53, was medicated with Ambien, a drug used to treat insomnia; Xanax, a sedative used to treat anxiety from depression; and a cough medication called Mucinex when her Lexus swerved off the road and hit Eastbluff Elementary School teacher Candace Tift as she rode her bike and walked her dog in August 2006, prosecutors said.

Prosecutor Robert Mestman argued if jurors learned of Johns’ husband’s death only six weeks before the accident, they would unfairly sympathize with her.

Judge Daniel McNerney ruled that while her husband’s death could be highly prejudicial, it is central to defense attorney Gary Pohlson’s case and will be permitted. A psychiatrist for the defense will be allowed to present his diagnosis that Johns’ husband’s death led to an acute grief reaction that made her able to do things like drive a car but not be totally conscious.

The courts have established that a person cannot commit a crime if they are not conscious, Mestman said.

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com.