MANSLAUGHTER TRIAL ENDS IN MISTRIAL.

Byline: Laurence Darmiento Daily News Staff Writer

A mistrial was declared Wednesday in the double-manslaughter case of a truck driver when the jury deadlocked on whether the man could have avoided plowing into his victims' stalled car.

Newhall Municipal Court Judge Floyd Baxter ordered a new trial, scheduling an initial hearing for Sept. 30.

In its final tally, after three full days of deliberation, the jury voted 10-2 Wednesday to convict Kern County truck driver Adrian Monclova.

Jury foreman Jim McCain said the two jurors who held out were familiar with the grade of the Golden State Freeway at McBean Parkway where the accident occurred. The two supported the defense claim that the rise of the road could have made it difficult to see the disabled car, McCain said.

The majority, however, felt Monclova had time to stop - as did other cars on the road that night, McCain said.

``The majority felt the evidence showed he was guilty,'' McCain said. ``It wasn't a matter of breaking the basic speed law. He appeared to be going too fast for the conditions.''

Monclova, 22, of LaMont was charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter in the Aug. 14, 1995, crash on the Golden State Freeway that killed a couple from Harbor City.

Driver John Jamerson, 62, and his wife Margaret, were believed to have been killed on impact when Monclova's 12-ton big rig slammed into the rear of their 1980 Toyota Corolla around midnight.

The Corolla had broken down as it crested a hill near McBean Parkway and had come to a dead stop in the traffic lane. Witnesses said several cars had to swerve around it.

Monclova said he could not avoid the car. He said he had been distracted by several other disabled cars that had pulled over on the shoulder, prompting him to change lanes shortly before the accident.

His attorney, Deputy Public Defender Bernie La Forteza called the accident a terrible tragedy, but said the case belonged in civil, not criminal court. The charges carry a one-year jail term.

Prosecutors maintained the trucker had been speeding to Long Beach, where he was to deliver his load, a 5-ton commercial labeling machine.

Monclova claimed his rig could only muster 65 mph on a straightaway, while the accident took place at the top of a 2 percent incline.

According to a California Highway Patrol analysis, the truck had been traveling at least 59 mph up the incline before it lost traction and began to skid when Monclova hit the brakes.