Albany

Lawyers for Dennis Drue, the driver accused in last year's double-fatality on the Northway, want a state appeals court to move his upcoming criminal trial out of Saratoga County, saying media hype makes it impossible for him to get a fair trial.

"The county of Saratoga (and surrounding counties) have been saturated with the relentless media coverage and publicity surrounding this case," the motion for a change of venue said. "And since that time, the uniformly negative and biased publicity and social media about Dennis has created an even greater community backlash against him igniting the volcanic anger that has been present since the very moment of this tragedy."

Prosecutors say Drue, 23, rear-ended Shenendehowa senior Chris Stewart's Ford Explorer, sending the SUV careening across three lanes of traffic, killing Stewart and fellow Shen senior Deanna Rivers and seriously injuring Matt Hardy, a Shen junior and River's boyfriend, and Bailey Wind, a Shaker High School senior and Stewart's girlfriend.

Saratoga County District Attorney James Murphy III has asserted that Drue was impaired by alcohol and marijuana on the night of the crash on Dec.1.

A blood sample taken from Drue, a Halfmoon father also known as Dennis Toomer, showed he had alcohol in his system, but not enough to charge him with driving while intoxicated, investigators said.

Of the 59 criminal charges, 52 of which are felonies, the most serious charges against Drue are counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and vehicular manslaughter, which could result in a prison sentence of up to 25 years if he is convicted. Drue has pleaded not guilty to all the offenses and has maintained his innocence. His attorney has countered that Drue had a few drinks but was not drugged or intoxicated at the time of the crash.

Filed Thursday in state Supreme Court Appellate Division in Albany, the court papers lay out the argument for a change of venue. They contend that the Shenedehowa school district, where Rivers, Stewart and Hardy were popular student athletes, is a large one where the community is passionate about its sports. As a result, the funerals, vigils, tributes and several fundraisers all attracted huge crowds, the legal document states. Days after the fatal crash, country singer Carrie Underwood even dedicated a song to the four victims during a performance at the Times Union Center. Then came a blizzard of social media coverage, countless tweets, some of them inflammatory against him, the lawyers' document states. The document includes as exhibits copies of stories from area newspapers, news websites and blogs.

The document goes to cite a blog Chris Stewart's mother, Regina Stewart, started in memory of her son and the other victims and an interview with a local television station where Wind said she likes "meeting the new people who really seem to care."

Events like these, the motion contends, plus the "ceaseless and prominent" publicity have only served to "fuel the anger and resentment" toward Drue.

"As a result, it is inconceivable that a fair and impartial jury can be drawn in the county of Saratoga of the Capital District," the court papers say. "Therefore Dennis Drue has no choice but to make this motion for a change of venue."

To buttress their argument, Drue's lawyers also include as exhibits a raft of articles, tweets and related bulletin board comments and photographs from various media outlets.

One of Drue's attorneys, Michael P. McDermott said Thursday that given all the hype surrounding the case, the defense team needs to preserve Drue's right to a fair trial. He is handling the case along with attorney Stephen R. Coffey.

District Attorney Murphy, who has eight days to respond to the defense motion, dismissed it Thursday as "entirely premature" and vowed to oppose it.

"You don't make a motion to change venue until you can actually demonstrate that you can't get a jury," he said, noting his office has been involved with many cases filled with notoriety — "but that's not the standard."

He said the true measuring stick is "can a juror be fair and impartial, and can a juror set aside what he or she knows about a case and assure the defendant gets a fair trial?

"I have great confidence in the people of Saratoga County, and I think they can do that," Murphy added.

Earlier this week, a county judge ruled that statements Drue made to several law enforcement officials can be admitted at trial even though the defense had sought to block them as evidence. During that pre-trial hearing, Drue took the stand and accused one of those lawmen of fabricating potentially incriminating comments.

The trial was supposed to get to get under way Sept. 30 but may be delayed because of the change of venue motion.

pnelson@timesunion.com • 518-454-5347 • @apaulnelson