A teenager who was severely injured when a transient allegedly drove his car onto a sidewalk in La Jolla wants to see the man accused of causing her injuries.
Jury selection continued into the afternoon on Wednesday for Ronald Troyer.
Prosecutors say 66-year-old Troyer was behind the wheel last August when his car jumped a curb in La Jolla, crashing through the window of the Cass Street Cafe and Bakery, seriously injuring three teenagers.
14-year-old Alani Aguerre was one of the most severely injured. Her parents say she was thrown from the hood of the car through the window and into the bakery where the car then landed on top of her.
"She was in a coma for two weeks," said Alani's mother Cecilia Aguerre. "She had many, many broken bones and cuts everywhere."
Alani is now out of the hospital, doing much better, and according to her mother, looking forward to testifying at the trial.
"She wants to see him," said Cecilia. "She wants to see his face and she wants to talk about it."
One of the family's worries, however, is that the jury will not hear about Troyer's past. He has five previous DUI's, and according to prosecutors had a suspended license, and was not supposed to own or be operating a vehicle at the time of the crash.
However, the family says prosecutors told them they might not be able to bring that history up in front of the jury.
Police at the scene of the August crash said Troyer did have marijuana in his system, but not alcohol.
"We just hope that everyone involved in the process of making decisions are aware of what happened and what could happen in the future," said Aguerre. "You have to kind of see a path that the guy doesn't know how to behave, and doesn't know what he should do."
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Opening arguments are expected to begin either Wednesday afternoon, or by Thursday morning.
Troyer faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted.
