FARMINGTON – A Massachusetts lumber dealer accused of leaving the scene of a deadly accident on Route 27 in New Vineyard last winter will wait 23 days for a verdict in his two-day trial.

Domingos Medeiros, 49, of Fall River returned to Franklin County Superior Court on Wednesday, expecting a decision in the jury-waived trial before Justice Michaela Murphy.

However, Murphy delayed the verdict to March 20 because computer problems prevented her from listening to a taped interview between Medeiros and Cpl. Stephen Charles of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department. Also, she gave defense attorney Walter McKee and prosecutor James Andrews time to submit legal arguments for her review.

Medeiros turned himself in to police nine days after a half-dozen or so 6- by 12-inch, 17-foot beams fell off a trailer he was hauling from Kingfield to Fall River, police said. The incident occurred near Basin Road shortly after 5 p.m. on Jan. 16, 2008.

One beam went through the windshield of a vehicle driven by Stephen McKenney, 55, of New Portland, killing him, investigators said. Another hit the windshield of a vehicle driven by Katherine Jones of Camden, injuring her and her daughter; a third damaged a vehicle, police said.

Medeiros was charged with leaving the scene of an accident with personal injury or death, a felony, and pleaded not guilty last May.

He testified Tuesday that he did not know he’d lost the load until he reached the Log Cabin Restaurant in Farmington, about 5 miles south of the accident scene. When he did, he said, he immediately backtracked and was stopped by traffic held up by a three-vehicle accident two-tenths of a mile away, and was advised to turn around. He said he returned home.

Timothy Harvey, manager of the Kingfield construction project where the beams were from, testified Tuesday that he called Medeiros the next morning to tell him the beams were involved in the accident and someone was killed.

Assistant District Attorney Andrews said in a closing statement Wednesday that Medeiros completely abandoned efforts to retrieve the beams and left the state. The law requires a person to stop or immediately return to an accident scene and provide information and aid, he said.

“Hindsight is 20-20,” McKee said in his summation. Medeiros went back to find the beams, got out of his vehicle and wanted to know what was going on. When he heard it was an accident, he was relieved because he believed that if the beams had caused the accident, he would have known it.

“A load of lumber is not a load of garbage,” Murphy replied. “Isn’t that an accident in itself to be reported?”

Medeiros believed the beams had to be off the road in the snow because he didn’t hear or see anything, McKee said.

Andrews responded that Medeiros should have taken responsibility at the time, not days later after police tracked him, the truck and trailer to his business, Hardpine Inc. in Fall River, and issued an arrest warrant.