A bicyclist testifying in the trial for a woman accused of slamming into a group of cyclists on Fiesta Island last summer said when he heard the impact of the crash, he expected to turn around and "see death."
"I expected, when I turned around, I expected to see death when I turned around and ran back," Michael Barreres, one of about 25 in the group that were hit, said in court.
Theresa Owens, 49, faces charges of felony DUI and possession of a controlled substance. In April, Owens was undergoing a trial to determine if she understands the charges against her and can assist in her defense.
Owens' defense attorney said said the question facing the jury was whether the driving in the crash was impaired, pointing out that the crash was a horrific accident but not necessarily a crime.
"Because, just like you can drink alcohol and still drive without being impaired, you can have methamphetamine in your system and still be able to drive without being impaired," the attorney said.
That day, Owens was not impaired for the purposes of driving, he said.
Police say she was under the influence of methamphetamine on Aug. 12 when she drove the wrong way on the Mission Bay island and hit about 10 cyclists. During her arrest, a bag of meth was found in her vagina, prosecutors allege.
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The psychiatrist who evaluated Owens had earlier said she had bipolar disorder marked by persistent delusions about her mother and boyfriend.
He said she was having a hallucination that her boyfriend “appeared and disappeared” during the crash.
However, a psychiatrist for the prosecution testified Owens met the legal standard for mental competency.
The prosecutor said Owens made a choice to use drugs and get behind the wheels on the car, describing horrific scene when riders were seen cascading through the air.
One experienced bicyclist that took the stand testified that when he saw Owens moments after the crash, she was "wild eyed, uttering incoherent statements, she appeared to be under the influence."
Barreres, a cyclist who has logged thousands of miles on Fiesta Island, said when he saw the car speeding toward his group of 20 to 24 cyclists that day, he couldn't process what was happening quickly enough.
"I've been told I yelled out...something," he testified. "And at that point, it wasn't registering that she was going to hit us yet."
But he soon heard a crash, he said, and stopped, got off his bike and went to help. The sound of the crash and the fact that he knew a car was involved made him think the worst could be ahead of him before he turned around.
"One of the riders was into the windshield, Rob was on top and Juan Carlos was underneath. Rob and I spent the next 15 to 20 minutes holding up Juan Carlos right by the pillar and the car," Barreres said.
Ten people were injured in the Fiesta Island crash in August, including La Jolla father Juan Carlos Vinolo, who is now paralyzed.
"As I got to the car, I expected to see a lot of bad things," he said.
Barrerres said in court the woman behind the wheel of the car that day was the woman sitting in court.
The crash prompted the city of San Diego to improve signs and road safety in the area to prevent another incident.
