LOUISVILLE, Ky. — During the third day of testimony in Michael Hurley's trial, 19-year-old Ava Jones faced the man charged with ramming his car into her family and killing her father more than two years ago.
Jones, who was 17 years old at the time, was visiting Louisville in July 2022 with her family for a basketball tournament she was set to play in.
Hours before Jones took the stand, prosecutors shared horrific surveillance video of Hurley slamming his car into the Kansas family as they stood on the sidewalk at the intersection of Second and Market Street.
Jones and her mother, Amy, spent days in the hospital recovering from serious injuries. Her younger brother, Creek, suffered minor injuries. Her father, Trey Jones, died in the hospital days after the crash.
As Jones wiped tears from her eyes, painfully recounting the difficult and ongoing journey to recovery, Hurley sat quiet in the courtroom and showed no emotions.
"I was a Division I basketball player, [my hand-eye coordination] was good," Jones said, getting emotional as she told the jury how the crash left her with a traumatic brain injury and permanent damage to her vision and vocal cords.
Jones explained she is still in neuro-physical therapy to help re-strengthen her coordination and ability to walk. She's also in occupational therapy to improve her writing and hand-eye coordination. But, she said it's possible she may never improve.
She's now studying at the University of Iowa but said her injuries have hindered her ability to learn and keep friends.
"I sit in the front row of every class and I talk, make sure I'm talking to the professor about what they're talking about, and I step outside class and don't remember what we were talking about or what's going to be on the exam, no idea," Jones said. "Everyday I go to class [it happens]."
Jones said she has no memory of the crash other than knowing now that she was hit by a car.
Her first memory after the crash was being with her grandparents at UofL's Frazier Rehabilitation Institute. She has no memories of the days spent in critical condition at UofL Hospital. Jones said she spent months learning how to walk again and it took nearly two years to learn how to talk again.
When given the opportunity, Hurley's defense chose not to question Jones during her testimony.
'Worried about getting to work'
Louisville Metro Police (LMPD) Det. Raymond Wonka testified Hurley made comments about being "thirsty and worried about getting to work in the morning" during his arrest.
Multiple officers also detailed how Hurley was "tired" and frequently "fell asleep" during examinations at Louisville Metro Corrections, despite telling police he had eight hours of sleep the night before the crash.
According to police, Hurley admitted to taking hydrocodone before hitting the family, however blood tests revealed he had four times the lethal dose of fentanyl in his system.
"For people who are drug naive, meaning they haven't been exposed to opioids or they haven't had opioids in their blood for a long time, 2 nanograms (ng) or above [of fentanyl] is capable of killing that person," Dr. Gregory Davis, a forensic pathologist and forensic consultant, later testified.
Hurley had 10 ng/mL of fentanyl in his blood at the time of the crash.
Hurley's defense questioned experts like Davis, an LMPD officer who was at the scene, and others who handled Hurley's blood test kits. They asked if adrenaline could have been a factor on why Hurley appeared sluggish.
An expert confirmed an adrenaline rush would give someone who just experienced an traumatic event a boost of energy and make them tired with time. But several witnesses have already testified they saw Hurley leave his vehicle after the collision already fatigued and unaware of his surroundings.
The trial will resume on Friday with Ava's mother, Amy Jones, expected to provide testimony.
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