Brandon Robinson never lifted his eyes from the table where he was seated while the judge explained the charges against him to the jury Monday, the first day of a four-day trial.

Robinson kept his eyes downcast as Deputy Prosecutor Dan Nelson and defense attorney Charles A. Davis Jr. offered their opening statements to the 14-member jury comprising six women and eight men.

Robinson never altered his plane of vision as the perspiration stains spread under his arms during testimony from the first five witnesses for the state.

Robinson, 18, of 1815 Deer Trail, Warsaw, is on trial in Kosciusko Superior Court III for eight criminal counts - three each of driving while intoxicated causing death and reckless homicide and two counts of driving while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury - all felonies.

Robinson was the driver of a pickup June 12 when it collided with a car driven by Aaron Hatfield, 17, of Claypool, at the intersection of Zimmer and Crystal Lake roads in Warsaw. Hatfield and two of his passengers - 16-year-old Heather Florey of Mentone and 12-year-old Tyler Bartley of Claypool - all died from injuries suffered in the accident. Monica Hatfield, then 6 months old, and Tiffany Bartley, 13, suffered critical injuries and were airlifted from Kosciusko Community Hospital to Parkview Memorial Hospital, Fort Wayne, after the two-vehicle accident at dusk that night.

Accident reconstructionist Kip Shuter, a sergeant with the Warsaw Police Department, testified in the case this morning.

Shuter told the court Robinson's truck was traveling between 63 and 68 miles per hour as it approached the intersection.

He said skid marks from the truck began 20 feet past the stop bar in the intersection and continued for 43 feet through impact. The intersection measures 118 feet from stop bar to stop bar.

Based on the skid marks, Shuter said the truck was traveling between 58 and 65 mph when it struck the car in the intersection.

Using weights and measurements provided by Dodge for a 1998 Ram 350 4X4 dually, Shuter estimated that it would have taken Robinson 376 feet to stop from a speed of 64 mph.

Shuter was to be cross-examined late this morning by attorneys for the defense.

On Wednesday, an expert from the South Bend Police department is expected to testify regarding the condition of the brakes on the truck. The brakes were inspected by police following the crash.

"This is a terrible tragedy," said Davis, of Nappanee, in opening arguments on Monday. "I'm not gonna stand up here and tell you that it isn't ... I wish I could take that night back, as I'm sure Brandon does."

Davis portrayed the crash as an "accident," while Nelson called it a "collision."

Prior to the jury being brought into the courtroom, Judge Joe Sutton denied a defense motion that the blood-alcohol test be inadmissible as evidence since the results were less than .10 percent. Robinson's blood-alcohol level, from a test taken about two hours after the accident, had a result of .099, one one-thousandth of a percent under the limit deemed to be legally drunk in Indiana.

Nelson argued that the blood test was relevant to the case and believes "it should come in."

Sutton said the test would be admitted upon the state building the proper foundation for it. When the matter came up during a police officer's testimony, Sutton didn't allow the blood-alcohol level to be noted on record, stating it would not be allowed until the state gets a foundation from hospital personnel.

The basis for the defense case seemed to be that Robinson wasn't "legally" intoxicated at the time of the accident and, therefore, cannot be found guilty on the drunk driving charges.

"If you can't say he was intoxicated," Davis told the jury in his opening statement, "then five counts go out the window."

Davis also claimed that statements from passengers in Robinson's pickup that Robinson intentionally ran the stop sign are false. Rather, Davis said, Robinson was "fiddling with CDs," swung past a vehicle exiting a driveway and looked up too late to stop at the intersection. Davis said Robinson "didn't see the stop sign."

Testimony from four police officers indicated the intersection is clearly marked and visible from a good distance as a four-way stop, and that there were no skid marks until after Robinson's vehicle was in the intersection. Robinson's pickup ran into Hatfield's car in the driver's side, an accident police describe as a "T-bone."

Testimony is expected from Robinson's three passengers, one of whom fled the scene after Robinson allegedly told him to get rid of the beer that was in the truck. Two of the passengers - including the one who fled - were arrested for illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor.

Ptl. Joe Stanley of the Warsaw Police Department described the interior of Robinson's truck as "soaking wet with beer," but only found two beer containers, one inside and one outside the vehicle. Also found in the pickup were a bag containing a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana and three pipes, commonly used to smoke marijuana and smelling of burned marijuana, in a bag under the back seat. Robinson tested negative for marijuana.

WPD Ptl. Doug Light testified that a nearby resident called police a couple days after the accident after finding a brown bag containing beer in her yard. The origin of that bag was never established, though, Light said.

While Davis insinuated that police had an agenda for having drug and alcohol tests performed on his client, both Stanley and Sgt. Doug Brumfield Sr. of the WPD testified that it is standard procedure to administer such tests to drivers after a fatal traffic accident.

Stanley told the jury that there was a "mass of people" when he arrived at the scene, which Brumfield described in court as "utter chaos for quite awhile."

Because Robinson didn't appear to have suffered any serious injuries, he was placed in a police car until emergency personnel could tend to him. All three officers had some contact with Robinson between the scene and the time he was taken to KCH for treatment and the blood test, but he was never actually taken into custody until after the results of the blood test came back, according to testimony.

Stanley told the court he asked Robinson at the scene if he was the driver of the truck and whether he had been drinking and that Robinson responded "yes" to both questions, further indicating he drank three beers before leaving a residence in the Palestine area and heading into Warsaw.

Stanley testified he is familiar with Robinson and that he was not acting in the manner he would normally act. Aside from being visibly shaken and sobbing at the scene of the accident, Stanley said Robinson's balance was "poor" and "unsteady," that he seemed "very lethargic," and his speech was "slow, slurred, thick."

"He seemed very, very upset about the accident and asked for a few minutes to himself," Stanley said. "I walked him to my squad and he asked me if the victims would be OK." Stanley, Light and Brumfield all told the court that Robinson never said he "didn't see the stop sign," but that he did say he "ran the stop sign."

Davis told the jury that Robinson isn't without fault in the accident and was likely exceeding the speed limit prior to the crash, but was "maybe going eight miles per hour over the speed limit ... the police won't even arrest you for it." He also said his client "shouldn't be penalized for negligence or mere inadvertentness."

Davis pleaded with the jury at the start of the trial to "look beyond the tragedy ... listen to the evidence."

Also testifying Monday were Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department Reserve Deputy Jeff Carson, who came upon the accident and was the first person to notify authorities, and Jay Moore, a volunteer with the Warsaw Fire Department who helped free the victims pinned in Hatfield's car and clear the accident scene.

Others expected to testify for the prosecution are Kent and Roxanne Wildman, the occupants of the vehicle Robinson passed prior to the accident, who came into the intersection shortly after the collision occurred, and KCH personnel.

Additionally, two clerks from a local liquor store where Robinson allegedly used false identification to purchase alcohol on June 12 have been subpoenaed, as well as a videotape from the business showing Robinson making the purchase.

Photographs from the scene have already been admitted as state's exhibits one through 63 and a videotape of the scene is expected to be shown to the jury. [[In-content Ad]]