Week in review

It is a move that one day may lead to a full merger of the two departments, Nantell said.

Callagy was brought in because he shares the vision of shared services between the two departments, a vision some Burlingame rank-and-file officers do not.

Burlingame police have been working without a contract now for 15 months and the force has been reduced by 25 percent, said Burlingame police Officer Jim Hutchings.

Hutchings is the vice president for the Burlingame Police Officers Association and is the lead negotiator for the department and the city in trying to reach a new contract.

"We have a severe difference of opinion although we are not opposed to consolidation just to oppose it,” Hutchings said.

Callagy will replace Acting Police Chief Ed Wood.

Wood has served in the position since December after longtime former Police Chief Jack Van Etten retired. Wood did not return a call for comment.

Callagy’s contract is for one year at a cost of just more than $200,000 with an option for extended years. He will technically remain employed by the San Mateo Police Department while the contract is in place. He is expected to take over in Burlingame toward the end of April.

Burlingame faces a $3 million deficit this year and potential cost-savings for the city related to shared services is a key reason Callagy will be hired.

Burlingame is facing an extra $600,000 a year hit for the next three years related to public employee retirement costs, another reason to study shared services, Nantell said.

Jury deadlocks on manslaughter in fatal crash

A judge declared a mistrial Tuesday in the vehicular manslaughter trial of a commercial truck driver whose vehicle sped uncontrollably down a San Mateo hill, colliding with seven cars and killing a 9-year-old boy outside the Mollie Stone’s grocery store.

The decision in the trial of Carlos Humberto Valderrama Siordia, 44, of Modesto, came a day after jurors first indicated they were deadlocked on the misdemeanor charge and returned a not guilty verdict on a second count of vehicular manslaughter that required a traffic infraction, like speeding, rather than negligence.

On Monday, the jury said it had moved from a 6-6 split to 9-3 before reaching an impasse. On Tuesday, when announcing its deadlock, the jury said it was still 9-3 in favor of acquittal.

The District Attorney’s Office is now left to decide whether to retry Siordia or let the case go.

Defense attorney John Elworth countered by saying Siordia tried the brakes, but they simply failed. He called mechanical experts to say there was evidence of some braking.

Siordia was cleaning up a roofing job at the top of Edison Avenue just before the crash. Siordia tried moving the truck away from the home to accommodate opening its backdoors when it traveled down 43rd Avenue at an almost 14 percent grade for four-tenths of a mile. The truck crashed into the Ford Escape SUV driven by Adrienne Colao and carrying 9-year-old Tyler Fahy who were headed to the Mollie Stone’s grocery store. The SUV in turn smacked into the Lexus driven by April Bisgaard and Siordia’s truck eventually came to a rest outside the shopping cart corral. A total of seven cars were involved in the crash.

Doctor’s competency in question

The former San Mateo child psychiatrist whose first molestation trial ended with a hung jury may be incompetent to face the same charges again, according to his defense attorney.

The question put William Hamilton Ayres’ trial on hold and could send him to a state hospital for treatment rather than potentially prison.

Defense attorney Jonathan McDougall indicated his concerns over Ayres’ mental state Monday and Judge Beth Freeman appointed two doctors to evaluate whether he is able to aid in his own defense. Those reports are due back April 28.

Freeman also vacated the scheduled April 12 jury trial because the competency decision will not yet be determined by that date. If Ayres is deemed competent, a new date will be set.

Ayres, 77, is accused of molesting six former male patients when they were aged 9 to 13 between 1988 and 1996 under the guise of medical exams. Ayres pleaded not guilty and testified that, while he did perform physical exams, they were in the course of treatment and not inappropriate.

Papan: Tracks likely to be buried

Since high-speed train tracks will likely be buried in Millbrae, it is logical the tracks will also likely be buried in Burlingame and the northern part of San Mateo, said Millbrae Councilwoman Gina Papan Tuesday night.

It was a statement with which Burlingame Vice Mayor Terry Nagel did not quite agree.

"I’m not convinced logic will prevail,” Nagel said at a workshop on the subject of high-speed rail hosted by the League of Women Voters North and Central San Mateo County at the Millbrae library last night.

It was the second night in a row Nagel spent discussing high-speed rail, as the Burlingame City Council approved spending $185,000 Monday night to spend on consultants to try and pressure the California Hig-Speed Rail Authority to bury the tracks in their city.

Papan also sits on the Policymaker Group of the Peninsula Rail Program, a joint board that answers to both Caltrain and the California High-Speed Rail Authority.

"You can’t have a roller coaster going from Millbrae to Burlingame,” Papan said.