A mother's Facebook use is being questioned following a deadly crash (KTRK)
Wednesday, June 29, 2016 11:25AM
ELLSWORTH, WI (KTRK) -- A Wisconsin mother was in court Tuesday to face negligence charges after prosecutors say she was using her phone seconds before a car crash that killed three children.
Local station WCCO reports Kari Milberg's 11-year-old daughter and her 5-year-old nieces died in the crash.
The day began with defense picking away at a sheriff's department investigator, Doug Ducklow, suggesting the tires on Milberg's car were too worn to be safe on any pavement.
Ducklow said, "I wasn't qualified to give an opinion about the tires."
Jurors then heard a recording of the truck drivers involved. Two brothers said conditions were slippery, saying it appeared Milberg's car lost control.
The prosecution is out to prove Milberg was Facebook messaging on her phone just before the crash, and drove into the path of the oncoming truck
Investigator Aaron Hansen said, "I was familiar with the chat messenger when it popped up. Couldn't tell you any names or anything that was written, but it appears something was written in there."
Hansen found Milberg's phone four months later, after snow had melted.He describes a Facebook chat log, detailing a string of messages between Milberg and Jason McKenzie. They were planning lunch, joking about being nervous. But when McKenzie took the stand, he was uncooperative and couldn't recall even messaging Milberg.
Evidence shows the final exchange between the two came 19 seconds before the 911 call.
A state mechanical inspector looked at Milberg's car. He said the brakes and steering all worked properly. He did say the tires were badly worn, but were still legal.
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Fatal Distracted Driving Case Goes To Jury June 29, 2016 11:55 AM
(credit: Pierce County Sheriff's Dept.)
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The case of Wisconsin mother, charged with negligence in a crash that killed her daughter and two nieces, is now in the jury’s hands.
The crash happened in December 2013, when their vehicle went into the path of an oncoming truck. Prosecutors say Kari Milberg was posting a message to Facebook on her cell phone in the minutes before the crash.
The defense was working to prove investigators ignored the slippery road conditions and the vehicles bad tires.
When the phone was found four months later, evidence showed an exchange 19 seconds before the 911 call between Millberg and Jason McKenzie. He said he couldn’t recall even messaging Millberg.
On Wednesday morning, prosecutors and the defense both rested their cases, the latter without calling any witnesses.
Final arguments were scheduled after the lunch break Wednesday.