Witnesses recalled watching a motorcyclist kick the door of a car before the driver struck and killed the rider in what prosecutors say was a fit of road rage.
The preliminary hearing for Darla Jackson, 26, revealed new details Thursday about what led up to the crash that killed U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Zachary Buob on May 28.
On the stand, witness Charmaine Ramilo described watching Buob on his red Ducati motorcycle as he moved into the fast lane of traffic, heading north on Interstate 5 in Chula Vista.
Ramilo testified that a dark-colored Nissan Altima, driven by Jackson, sped up and passed Buob in the same lane. Jackson veered onto the left shoulder to do it.
According to Ramilo, Jackson got within about two feet of Buob to pass him.
"The rider (Buob) kinda shook his head, and he was just shaking about like, ‘What was that about?’” Ramilo said. “And then he sped up in the 2nd lane, trying to catch up to her.”
Daniel Kenley was driving a couple cars back. According to his testimony, he saw the motorcyclist pull alongside the car and start shaking his pointer finger at Jackson in a “scolding manner.”
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The Nissan swerved to the right in the motorcycle’s direction, so Buob veered right to avoid being hit, Kenley testified.
Buob then kicked the passenger side door with his left foot, multiple witnesses said, and darted off, with Jackson on his tail.
William Touch, another witness who was riding in the same car as Ramilo, told the court Thursday that Jackson swerved to hit Buob several times.
“The biker sped up to try to get back into the #1 lane in front of the car, but the car continued to speed up to try to make sure that didn’t happen,” said Touch.
Trying to reach the State Route 54 off-ramp, Buob cut across all lanes, and Jackson followed closely behind. Kenley said he had to take the SR-54 exit as well, so he followed the two.
“About 100 yards up ahead of me, I see a lot of brake lights and a big dust cloud,” he described.
Kenley did not see the impact between Buob and Jackson, but when he reached the crash site, he pulled over to see if he could help and give his statement to officials.
He described seeing Buob lying on the ground with one person doing chest compressions on him, another person holding his head and a third putting pressure on a leg wound.
He then saw Jackson “hysterical, pacing back and forth, walking around in circles,” Kenley testified. He said he may have heard Jackson say that she was just trying to get Buob’s license plate number.
CHP officials previously told NBC 7 Jackson had hit Buob from behind and ran him over. He died an hour later at a hospital.
At her arraignment, Jackson's attorney said his client and Buob accidentally collided when they ran into traffic. He said his client is sorry for what happened.
Jackson faces one count of murder in his death.
