Local Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour denied the second attempt to delay Chandler Kania’s trial in court Tuesday. The former UNC student is accused of driving the wrong way on I-85 for at least six miles after several hours of drinking last summer. Kania’s Jeep hit another vehicle head-on and killed three of the four passengers.

Defense Attorney Russell Babb says Kania’s defense needs more time to hire an expert to fix the audio quality of a North Carolina Highway Patrol interview with Kania after the wreck.

“We’ve tried various ways and used our IT people in-house to help us try to figure things out because it sounds like it’s recorded in one corner of the Dean Dome with the camera far away.”

Assistant District Attorney Jeff Nieman says the audio issues from the video are not bad enough to warrant pushing back the trial.

“I’ve gone through the discovery and I suspect they have, and I’ve listened to it multiple times and you can hear it quite clearly.”

Babb says they also need more time to study the blood test taken from Kania at UNC Hospitals.

“We need more time to hire experts to help us understand hospital protocols; the way hospital blood is typically taken; who does it; who handles it; the possibilities of contamination, and experts to help us understand a trial of this nature”

Babb also says the defense has acquired more than 500 cell phone images from prosecution that they need more time to sort through.

Nieman says the prosecution obtained the hospital records because the defense wants to block the blood-alcohol content results taken by emergency personnel directly after the wreck. And the cell phone images were condensed versions of ones the defense has had since December.

“No single document is new. They’ve had it for the better part of a year.”

Baddour sided with prosecution on both the pictures and the medical records.

“The court will deny the motion to continue. Thank you, I’m just not satisfied that any of the grounds are justified. I think the medical records are available to the defendant, any person for their own treatment at any time. “

Kania has been charged with three counts of second-degree murder, among other charges. His trial date stands to begin October 3.

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