Thread by @KGETnews

The trial of Ayana Council, charged with murder in an alleged DUI crash last year, is about to begin. #CouncilTrial

Council is represented by public defenders Nick Roth and Samantha Sark. Tara Deal is the prosecutor. Judge Brian McNamara is presiding. #CouncilTrial

Council is charged in the July 17 crash that killed Michelle Rodrigue, 52. Rodrigue's husband was following in a vehicle behind her and witnessed the collision. #CouncilTrial

Opening statements will begin shortly. #CouncilTrial

Ayana faces a life term in prison if found guilty of second-degree murder, among other charges brought against her. #CouncilTrial

Deal, the prosecutor, has begun her opening statement. She said the jury will hear evidence about the crash that occurred June 17 on Highway 58 west of General Beale Road. #CouncilTrial

Craig Rodrigue, Michelle Rodrigue's husband, will testify, Deal said. #CouncilTrial

The couple had packed up their home in San Ramon and was traveling to Las Vegas, where they had a new home and were going to start a new life, Deal said. #CouncilTrial

They unfortunately never got there, Deal said. A vehicle came across the highway, over the median and hit Michelle's vehicle, causing it to somersault and land on its roof. #CouncilTrial

Craig, following in another vehicle, got out and checked on his wife and tried to save her. Paramedics arrived and Michelle was pronounced dead at the scene. #CouncilTrial

Alcohol was smelled on Council. She had red, watery eyes and an unsteady gait, Deal said. Council admitted driving the Nissan that hit Michelle's vehicle and said she's not from Kern County, was passing through, Deal said. #CouncilTrial

Council was arrested and taken to Kern Medical. Her blood was tested, results showed her blood-alcohol content was 0.22%, nearly 3 times the legal limit. #CouncilTrial

Council has two prior DUI convictions. #CouncilTrial

The other charges against Council are gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI causing injury and driving on the wrong side of the road causing injury or death. #CouncilTrial

Deal has finished her opening statement. #CouncilTrial

Deputy Public Defender Nick Roth has begun his opening statement, calling what happened in this case a "terrible tragedy, and I don't think anyone would disagrees about that." #CouncilTrial

Roth said he doesn't think Deal is going to have trouble proving some of the main facts of this case. He said he's not arguing Council wasn't driving the vehicle or the manner the crash happened, but said the murder and manslaughter charges have specific elements. #CouncilTrial

Roth said Deal must prove Council acted with implied malice to prove second-degree murder and gross negligence for the manslaughter charge. The way the law is written about a person's mental states for those crimes makes this case more complicated, he said. #CouncilTrial

Roth said the evidence will not show Council was speeding or driving in a reckless manner prior to the crash. #CouncilTrial

At the end of this case, Roth said, he will ask for a manslaughter conviction but not murder. He said murder is not relevant to the facts of this case. #CouncilTrial

Craig Rodrigue, Michelle's husband, has been called to the stand. #CouncilTrial

Rodrigue is a retired law enforcement officer. He retired in 2015. #CouncilTrial

He worked about 27 years in law enforcement. He learned how to render medical aid. #CouncilTrial

Earlier on June 17, Rodrigue said, he and his wife were packing and getting ready to make their move from San Ramon to Las Vegas. They were leaving in separate cars. #CouncilTrial

On June 1 they had become owners of a house in Las Vegas, Craig Rodrigue said. #CouncilTrial

Rodrigue said his wife was a crossing guard for 18 years and had retired about two weeks earlier. #CouncilTrial

He became teary-eyed, his voice becoming softer, when asked to identify a photo of his wife. #CouncilTrial

Rodrigue said they driving and it was about 8:15 p.m. as they headed east on Highway 58. It was dusk, the roads clear. There was no rain or fog. #CouncilTrial

Rodrigue said he sees a dark car coming in the opposite direction and wondering what it's going to do, and if his wife will be able to avoid it. He said he thinks she'll get past it and he'll have to avoid it. #CouncilTrial

Rodrigue said a plume of dust shot out from under the car and it went across the center median and hit his wife's Suburban. The plume of dust traveled across -- "God was protecting me from seeing what was going on inside" -- and eventually he saw the vehicle roll. #CouncilTrial

He said it appeared the driver of the dark vehicle hit the gas instead of the brakes when it was going over the median. He said he couldn't see how many times his wife's car rolled. #CouncilTrial

Michelle Rodrigue's vehicle came to rest on its roof and he pulled up nose-to-nose with it, Craig Rodrigue said. He jumped out, started to call 911 but call dropped, then called again, dropped again. #CouncilTrial

He said he looked back and saw the dark sedan stopped in the number two lane. People were running toward him and he told them to get the person in the sedan. "I didn't want that person to get away," he said. #CouncilTrial

He said he rubbed his wife's arms, told her to keep breathing and praying she would hold on. #CouncilTrial

"I could see that she was still breathing," Craig Rodrigue said. Then a woman told him to start compressions. #CouncilTrial

"I was pushing on her chest even though she was upside down," he said. He blew air into her nose and did compressions; she never regained consciousness. #CouncilTrial

He noticed her pulse was fading. "I saw her gurgle, and I knew then," Rodrigue said through tears. Paramedics arrived and he paced around the car and a fire captain told him she had died. #CouncilTrial

Court is in recess for 15 minutes. #CouncilTrial

The trial is back in session. Craig Rodrigue remains on the stand. #CouncilTrial

Prosecutor Tara Deal showed Rodrigue photos of the crash scene. He confirmed they accurately depict the crash scene, and Deal has moved the photos into evidence. #CouncilTrial

One photo is of the upside down Suburban. It's surrounded by debris, the belongings the Rodigues had packed for their move. #CouncilTrial

One photo shows the driver's side of the Suburban. Michelle Rodrigue's body is covered with a yellow sheet. #CouncilTrial

Deal ended her questioning by showing a photo of a woman's bloodied body; Craig identified his wife. #CouncilTrial

On cross-examination, Craig Rodrigue said he didn't see the other vehicle attempt to leave but told people to go toward its driver as a precaution. #CouncilTrial

Rodrigue reiterated the other vehicle accelerated out of the median and struck his wife's Suburban. Deputy Public Defender Samantha Sark ended her questioning. #CouncilTrial

Rodrigue has stepped down. Ashley Fidler has been called to the stand. #CouncilTrial

Fidler lives in Tehachapi. She was driving east on Highway 58 on the night of the crash. #CouncilTrial

She said she was in the fast lane. She said she noticed a car going west on 58 and it didn't negotiate a curve and lost control right when it passed her car. #CouncilTrial

Fidler said the car, a Nissan, had no other vehicle close to it. She said she sped up to avoid getting hit. The car crossing the median "created a big huge dust storm" but she saw another vehicle flipping through it, Fidler said. #CouncilTrial

Fidler said she didn't stop. By the time the truck flipped she was at the exit to General Beale and called 911. She had her two kids in the car and didn't want to travel backward on the highway. #CouncilTrial

Fidler identified Council in court as the person who drove the vehicle that went over the median. #CouncilTrial

She said she couldn't say for sure, but as far as her recollection Council was the person driving the Nissan. #CouncilTrial

Deal ended her questioning. On cross-examination, Fidler said the Nissan rolled through the center median and into oncoming traffic. Fidler has been excused. #CouncilTrial

CHP Officer Hardeep Dhaliwal has been called to the stand. #CoucilTrial

Dhaliwal testified he has investigated more than 400 traffic collisions. #CouncilTrial

Dhaliwal is going over the training he has received. #CouncilTrial

Dhaliwal was called to the crash scene. It happened at about 8:15 p.m., and he arrived about 8:30 p.m. #CouncilTrial

The center median dividing the eastbound and westbound lanes is about 50 feet wide, Dhaliwal said. #CouncilTrial

The roadway is flat and there are no visual obstructions, he said. #CouncilTrial

Dhaliwal said he arrived to find damage to two vehicles, a Chevy Suburban and a Nissan Sentra. #CouncilTrial

Dhaliwal testified a person was standing just north of the Nissan. He said that person was Council, and pointed her out in court. #CouncilTrial

Dhaliwal said Council told him she was the driver of the Nissan. He said she told him her cruise control was set to 70 mph and a vehicle traveling to her right had cut her off, forcing her to swerve to her left. #CouncilTrial

There was a strong odor of alcohol coming from Council, Dhaliwal said, and she was unsteady on her feet and had bloodshot, watery eyes. Council told him she drank 1 glass of red wine the night before, Dhaliwal said. #CouncilTrial

Council said she was driving from Las Vegas to San Jose, Dhaliwal said. #CouncilTrial

Dhaliwal said he had Council perform field sobriety tests. He's describing the tests. #CouncilTrial

Based on Council's performance on the tests, Dhaliwal found she was impaired by alcohol and was unable to safely operate a motor vehicle. #CouncilTrial

Dhaliwal arrested her and took her to Kern Medical to medically clear her for booking, he said. #CouncilTrial

Dhaliwal said he interviewed Craig Rodrigue and get an idea of what happened. Paramedics and fire personnel on scene confirmed Michelle Rodrigue had died, the officer said. #CouncilTrial

Photos were taken of the scene and vehicles, Dhaliwal said. Deal, the prosecutor, is now showing him the photos. #CouncilTrial

The Sentra sustained heavy front-end damage and came to rest in the wrong direction on the highway. The driver's side airbag went off. #CouncilTrial

Dhaliwal is continuing to describe what's scene in photos of the crash scene, including marks on the highway from where the Nissan skidded. #CouncilTrial

Court is in recess. #CouncilTrial