LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Michael Hurley is back in court on Wednesday as his jury trial enters day two.
Hurley is a southern Indiana man accused of driving into a Kansas family as they were visiting downtown Louisville for a basketball tournament in 2022.
On Wednesday, the jury heard from a family member of the Jones family for the first time. The father of Trey Jones, the father who was killed in the collision, took to the stand as Commonwealth prosecutors asked him to relive his experience after the incident.
William Arthus Jones Jr. was asked if Trey's son Hunter had to sign the paper work to take his father off life support. Jones Jr. said yes.
"He grew up a lot real fast," Jones Jr. said.
It was heartbreaking decision made by the father and grandson after the Jones family was hit by a car in downtown Louisville on July 5, 2022.
"He was a high school shop teacher," Jones Jr. said while describing his son Trey. "Wood working shop teacher and track coach."
Hurley is accused of hitting Trey Jones and his family as they walked down the sidewalk at 2nd and Market Streets.
Also on the stand was Deborah Johnson who recalled the shocking scene.
"It was going fast but the view was obstructed by a truck a little bit," Johnson said. "I saw the bodies fly over the truck."
Johnson testified she saw Hurley drive into the Jones family and quickly ran to help the mother, Amy.
"I knelt down by Amy and tried to talk to her," Johnson said. "I wanted to say everything was okay and fine but at that point I didn’t know."
Prosecutors also called on Louisville Metro Police (LMPD) officers who were at the scene. They were questioned on Hurley’s behavior as the situation unfolded. Video from their body cameras was shown to the jury.
"It was spontaneous utterance," said Celestino Aviles, a detective for LMPD. "He was making no sense. Saying things out of nowhere."
In the officer's body cam video Hurley can be seen apologizing with little emotion.
During the first day of testimony, prosecutors revealed Hurley had a fatal dose of fentanyl in his system.
Aviles spoke about his experience with him that day.
"Into my experience it’s a common theme," Aviles said. "His reaction that he was showing that he was under the influence of some type of substance that was not alcohol."
Hurley’s defense attorneys pushed back with questions about his behavior. They stated that trauma after a car accident can reveal those same emotions Hurley portrayed.
Wednesday's trial ended just before 3:30 p.m. and will continue Thursday morning.
Prosecutors are expected to bring the mother and daughter who had to endure a long recovery process to the witness stand on Thursday.
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