The DUI manslaughter trial involving Gustavo De La Cruz began Friday with opening statements and witness testimonies.
The prosecution argued that De La Cruz had two previous DUI convictions before the October 2013 car crash that killed Taylor Embree. Prosecution also showed pictures of beer cans near De La Cruz's car the night of the crash.
The defense stated that there are no witnesses that saw the crash happen. This means there is no definitive evidence that De La Cruz was the one that swerved into oncoming traffic and hit Embree head on.
"There won't be an absolute rule out that it wasn't the Chevrolet that crossed the line first and that Mr. De La Cruz reacted to that emergency situation," said Deputy Public Defender Kevin Moran.
The defense said that Embree had been working 15 hour days leading up to the day of the accident and was hardly getting five hours of sleep a night. Moran argued that Embree could have been fatigued while driving that morning.
Embree's wife Britney took the stand as the first witness in the case. She said that the long hours were not unusual for his job. She recalled the last conversation she had with Embree before he left for work that morning.
"I sat up and gave him a hug," said Embree.
"Told him I loved him and asked him to be safe. Just because I was worried about him. He had just shared that he had a close call on the same road recently so I was just worried about him driving."
At around 4:15 AM on October 17, 2013, an accident occurred between De La Cruz and Embree on Comanche Road near Breckenridge. De La Cruz was driving northbound and Embree southbound. It is believed that De La Cruz was driving impaired and swerved into Embree's lane.
The impact from the crash caused Embree's vehicle to split in half and Embree died at the scene.
De La Cruz suffered a broken leg and was arrested for DUI at the hospital.
