FRANKLIN — A field trip to the state police barracks in Franklin started day six of the trial of Paul Morrisroe.

Jurors reported to the Venango County Courthouse at 8:15 a.m., and were loaded onto a Venango County Transit bus for a trip of about five miles. The state police impound yard housed both Morrisroe’s full-sized Ford pick-up truck and Dakota Heinaman’s 1979 Harley Davidson motorcycle.

It was rainy and about 37 degrees as jurors filed off the bus, many carrying umbrellas. Deputies from the county sheriff’s department escorted the jurors into the impound yard to walk around both vehicles and look at them. There were not permitted to touch, or to ask questions.

The 12 jurors and three alternates then filed back on the bus and were taken back to the courthouse.

The trip took about an hour total.

First to the stand after that was Trooper Shawn Compton, a forensic services trooper with Troop C. He explained he had been contacted by Trooper Ted Horner to assist with evidence collection following the June 2, 2015, crash.

While he was on the stand, District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer had him identify photos he had taken of evidence in the case. Those pictures included Heinaman’s leather jacket — torn in places, pierced through in others; his blue jeans, also torn and filled with holes from the crash; his leather gloves and his boots.

Heinaman’s family quietly cried while the pictures were shown on a screen at the back of the courtroom. Several jurors split their attention — watching the family with looks of sympathy on their faces, and looking at the photos on the screen. The clothing items were the first visual hint of the injuries Heinaman had suffered when his motorcycle was hit from behind by the F-350 truck.

Compton also described cutting off the end of the bumper from the front passenger side of the truck, and sealing it in a box. The part of the bumper had dents and orange paint transfer on it.

Trooper Nicholas Jordan was next to the stand. He explained he had been an alternate custodian of evidence at the Kane barracks of state police. On Oct. 1, 2015, three males went to the barracks and retrieved personal items from Morrisroe’s truck, he testified.

Describing the items they had retrieved, he said, “clothing, tools, a bred rail which is similar to a roof rack, hand tools, power tools” and other items, totaling approximately 29 from the bed of the truck and about 20 from the inside of the truck.

Accident reconstruction specialist Cpl. Kurtis Rummel, with Troop C of the state police, spent a considerable amount of the day on the stand.

He described arriving at the scene early in the morning on June 3, 2015. “I was able to see a motorcycle laying on its side and a person lying there; I believe he was covered by a blanket.”

Rummel said he tries not to speak to anyone at the scene, because he doesn’t want any preconceived notions. He studied markings on the pavement, tire tracks, fluid on the roadway, debris on the road and such.

“I go back through and set up a ‘total station.’ It’s like a piece of surveying equipment,” he said. It takes measurements and stores the data, which is later downloaded into specialized software.

Rummel said differences in the tire marks on the road — wider in some places, differently shaped in others — tell investigators what happened in the crash.

Using the marks in the road, along with a spray pattern of oil from a crack in the bottom part of the motorcycle’s engine, showed Rummel where the impact had taken place, he testified.

From there, it was 35 feet later that the motorcycle had impacted the road, “it indicated to me the motorcycle was in the air … it was airborne for a short time,” Rummel said.

When landing, “the motorcycle and rider slid together on the roadway for 70 feet,” he said. Several jurors again glanced over at Heinaman’s family, watching at his mother, grandmother and sister silently wept.

He described at length the various debris found, and which vehicle it came from. At Shaffer’s request, he opened several evidence bags and boxes and showed the jury pieces of the truck and motorcycle that had been picked up off the road.

Rummel also explained how he had mapped the interior of the truck using his “total station,” measuring the placement of seats, the steering wheel and everything else.

Using data collected during the investigation, he created images of a 6’2” tall person, Morrisroe’s height; and a 5’6” person, the height of the alleged passenger in the truck, Charlie Bailey. He included diagrams, which Shaffer showed the jury, of the “stick figures” in the driver’s seat and passenger’s seat. His conclusion, he testified, was “a person who is six-foot-two would be better suited to operate that vehicle as to where the controls were than someone who was five-foot-six.”

The 5’6” stick figure’s feet didn’t reach the pedals.

“What caused the crash?” Shaffer asked.

Rummel said in his opinion, “Mr. Heinaman had slowed his motorcycle to make a left turn. The truck coming behind him did not slow down in time. The driver attempted to swerve left and avoid a collision but he was not successful. As a result (Heinaman) passed away.”

Under cross-examination, Kinnear asked if speed was a factor in the crash. No, Rummel said.

Kinnear asked about Rummel’s earlier testimony about the shape of the tire tracks, as the specialist had said it was rare that someone whose vehicle made those marks hadn’t lost control of the vehicle.

“It’s a critical speed scuff,” Rummel said. “That scuff is created by a vehicle that is just on a cusp of spinning out of control but doesn’t.”

Kinnear questioned the stick figures as well, asking Rummel if it were possible that someone might not be sitting completely back in the seat of the truck. “You can’t say with any certainty who was the driver that night,” Kinnear said.

“Correct,” Rummel agreed.

Cpl. Mary Gausman, lead investigator on the case, briefly took the stand before the day was over. She explained briefly about being at Morrisroe’s garage on Sunny Lane early in the morning on June 3, 2015. Shaffer also asked her if she had even seen gouge marks in the road, allegedly caused by Morrisroe’s truck, before the day of the crash. Gausman said no.

When asked to describe the role of lead investigator in a case, Gausman said, “You are sort of the hub of all the information. Everything ends up on my desk.”

The trial resumes at 8:15 a.m. today.