A woman who allegedly drove drunk and fatally struck a 15-year-old girl and her mother's boyfriend on a National City street should be found guilty of two counts of murder, a prosecutor argued Wednesday, while a defense attorney told jurors that while the collision was "tragic," it was also unavoidable and not his client's fault.
Opening statements were delivered Wednesday morning in the trial of Tayishe Baltys, 46, who is charged in the June 22, 2022, deaths of Jessica Talamante and Brian McKee.
”I just want justice for my daughter and for Brian, because she was just 15," Kristen White, the mother and fiancée of the victims, told NBC 7 last February during a preliminary hearing. "She had her whole life ahead of her, whole life. She was a good girl. Brian was a great guy. He was my best friend."
The victims were walking home after shopping at a nearby 7-Eleven when they were struck at around 10 p.m. on East Plaza Boulevard. Talamante died at the scene, while McKee was taken to a hospital, where he died. Talamante's sister was also walking home with the victims and narrowly avoided being struck by Baltys' car, Deputy District Attorney Mary Loeb told a Chula Vista jury.
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The prosecutor said that prior to the crash, Baltys spent around three hours drinking with co-workers at a Dave & Buster's restaurant in Mission Valley.
Though Baltys lived about 15 minutes away from the Dave & Buster's, Loeb said she was so intoxicated that she ended up in National City over an hour later.
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The impact sent both victims flying and left pieces of their 7-Eleven bags stuck in the grill of Baltys' car, according to Loeb, who said, "There was simply no hope for them with the defendant on the road."
When contacted by officers, Baltys repeatedly denied drinking but performed poorly on field sobriety tests, and a preliminary alcohol screening indicated she had a blood-alcohol content of about .16%, which is two times the legal driving limit in California, according to the prosecutor.
During the preliminary hearing in February 2023, prosecutors focused on the details of the Baltys' night out, including footage and photos of her drinking at the Mission Valley bar/arcade with friends and an investigator's interview with a bartender who said Baltys and friends told him they were taking a rideshare home.
On Wednesday, Loeb said Baltys also has a 2020 DUI conviction. She pleaded guilty in that case and was sentenced to probation, which the prosecutor said gave her intimate knowledge of the dangers of drinking and driving.
Colby Ryan, one of Baltys' defense attorneys, told jurors that the victims "did not deserve to die in such a heartbreaking accident" but urged the panel to pursue "justice, not retribution or vengeance."
Ryan said "factors out of [Baltys'] control" led to the accident, which even a sober driver would not be able to manage. Those included "pitch black" conditions on East Plaza Boulevard that night, as well as the victims crossing the road outside of the crosswalk while wearing dark clothing.
Baltys is expected to take the stand to testify about those conditions and her belief that "she was OK to drive," Ryan said. The defense will also call expert witnesses who concluded through reconstructions of the accident that Baltys would not have had time to stop and avoid colliding with the victims, Ryan said.
