SAN ANTONIO – As he attempted to enter the Loop 1604 access road from a private driveway, Mario Velasquez-Pala’s car was struck broadside by an SUV driven by Rosalinda Olalde who was driving on the sidewalk.
Olalde, 24, had apparently veered from the access road and onto the sidewalk prior to the crash at 2 a.m. on Aug. 10, 2018.
Velasquez-Palau, 22, was killed and 4 passengers in his car were critically injured.
During a pretrial hearing Tuesday, prosecutors filed a motion seeking to prevent a defense expert witness from testifying.
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Eric Moody, an accident reconstruction expert, testified during the hearing that he disputed some of the state’s evidence.
“Some of the calculations that were done didn’t appear to be consistent with the configuration of this crash as far as the alignment of the vehicles go,” Moody said.
But Moody said he agreed with many of the findings made by the state’s experts.
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Prosecutors withdrew their motion and jury selection began.
The trial is expected to resume Wednesday in Judge Jennifer Pena’s 290th District Court.
Olalde is facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if she is convicted.