Critical Maneuver

Critical Maneuver refers to episode 32 of the Season 11 of the television series Forensic Files which was broadcast for the first time on February 21, 2007.

Plot summary
When a hit-and-run accident claimed the life of a high school athlete, everyone in town mourned his passing. Finding the killer was a long shot at best, but investigators hoped tiny paint chips and pieces of plastic found at the scene would lead them to the person who was behind the wheel.

Rafael Garcia
A 17-year-old boy who was hit by a car while walking at the side of the road and died at the side of the road after. He was a football player and excellent student who attended Southside High School in south central Texas.

He was from a poor background being one of six children to a single mother. He worked weekends in order to help support his family.

His death was listed as a hit and run accident. Hundreds of people attended his funeral.

Robert Huffman
Huffman had previous criminal convictions including drug and firearm possessions and had recently served time in prison for these offences. On the night of the accident, he'd been drinking at a bar before driving home, which was where he hit Rafael.

When home, he claimed that he hit a deer, replaced the broken headlight and turn signal, and then fled town. He was initially arrested in Tennessee for providing a false name while staying at a motel.

Sentence
He was convicted of failure to stop and provide aid at the scene of an accident. Because of his previous convictions, he was sentenced to the maximum of 20 years in prison.

Pathology
An autopsy was performed on Rafael. It showed that he suffered blunt force trauma to the head and bruising which suggested that he was facing the vehicle when it hit him.

Trace Evidence
Evidence left behind from the car including a side mirror and paint chips. Having tracked down the parts, investigators were able to determine the make and model of the car used as well as the colour. The problem was that it was a popular car in Texas.

The paint chips were then matched up exactly to Huffman's truck.