VILLAGE NEWS
A brunch best celebrates 20 years of service.
Scott Appleby & Kerry ApplebyPayne
LA JOLLA
A Family Tradition of Real Estate Success
SEE PAGE 12
858-775-2014
LA JOLLA’S PREFERRED SOURCE FOR LOCAL NEWS
THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2011
San Diego Community Newspaper Group
DRE#01197544 DRE#01071814
www.SDNEWS.com Volume 16, Number 28
Car show
rolls in to La Jolla In its seventh year, the La Jolla Motor Car Classic will bring antique autos and rare rides to Ellen Browning Scripps Park this Sunday. See page 3
La Jollan takes on 156-mile desert marathon BY KENDRA HARTMANN | VILLAGE NEWS
Raymond Stevens is taking fundraising to a new level. The Scripps Research Institute (SRI) professor, who heads the Stevens Laboratory at the campus, will be running for a cause — across the desert. Stevens will participate in the Marathon des Sables, a six-day, 156mile ultra marathon that starts in Morocco on April 3 and treks the distance of six regular marathons
through a section of the Sahara Desert. Stevens’ cause is PKU, a genetic disorder that occurs when the body is unable to break down the amino acid phenylalanine. Stevens has been at the forefront of research into treatments for PKU since his interest in the disorder was piqued as a starting assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley 20 years ago. Now at SRI, his laboratory is helping with the development of a molecule that
La Jollan Ray Stevens will undertake the Marathon des Sables, a 156-mile race across southern Morocco. Stevens is one of 24 Americans attempting the six-day SEE RAY, Page 2 challenge. Courtesy photo
It’s final: Bird Rock Farmers Market See page 5
a no go
Trial begins incafecrash BY NEAL PUTNAM | VILLAGE NEWS A La Jolla man is on trial on charges he crashed his truck into Cass Street Café, located at 5550 La Jolla Blvd., injuring three teenagers and seriously injuring two adults in August. Testimony against Ronald Troyer, 66, who was allegedly under the influence of marijuana at the time of the incident, is expected to last through April 1 or longer in San Diego Superior Court. Troyer is accused of driving under the influence, causing great bodily injuries to four people, reckless driving, driving with a suspended driver’s license and hit and run. Witnesses testified about the Aug. 15 incident, which happened about 7 p.m., in which people received broken bones and numerous injuries. One teenager was dragged underneath the truck. Troyer’s attorney, David Thompson, told the jury of seven men and five women that Troyer suffered a seizure while he was driving, and that caused the accident. He said his client smoked marijuana the morning of the crash, but insisted he did not drink or take other drugs. Thompson said Troyer didn’t put on his brakes or steer the truck because he had a seizure and he didn’t know what happened. “This does not constitute reckless driving,” he said. Deputy District Attorney David Uyar told jurors the truck first jumped the curb, and then struck the teenagers. Then it hit a San Diego Gas & Electric transformer box and crashed into the café. Uyar said witnesses recalled Troyer emerging from the truck, saying, “Someone stole my car. I wasn’t driving.” Uyar said Troyer collected some papers from inside the truck before he tried to leave the scene twice. “He knew uniquely the dangers of driving under the influence. He chose to drive anyway,” Uyar said. According to records, Troyer’s driver’s license was suspended in 2006 because of a misdemeanor conviction of drunken driving. Troyer remains in the Vista Detention Facility on $275,000 bail.