Overview
- Jurors received the case after closing arguments and began deliberations Wednesday before being sent home to resume on Thursday morning.
- Prosecutors relied on body-camera footage and investigator testimony showing officers smelled alcohol and on Brunner’s statement that she had "two drinks," while charging her with six felonies that carry the possibility of a life sentence if convicted.
- The defense called crash reconstruction expert Zachary Bingen who testified the Jeep was traveling about 49 mph and, in his view, could have stopped before the intersection based on vehicle data.
- Bingen also said vehicle and steering data show Brunner was on the stop line before the light turned yellow and steered away from the Jeep in a defensive move shortly before impact.
- A key witness, Jeep driver Peter McColgan, invoked his Fifth Amendment right during testimony outside the jury’s presence and is separately charged in the crash though the jury has not been told, and a verdict could be reached imminently with major consequences for the victims’ families and related cases.