Defense wants out-of-town jurors to visit I-75 fatal crash site for upcoming trial

In this Sept. 11, 2015, file photo, Benjamin Scott Brewer, center, appears for his arraignment in Chattanooga, Tenn. Federal investigators said Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016, that Brewer failed to slow down in a construction zone, was probably fatigued and had taken methamphetamine to stay awake. Brewer's tractor trailer crashed into multiple vehicles on Interstate 75, killing six and injuring six others on June 25, 2015.
In this Sept. 11, 2015, file photo, Benjamin Scott Brewer, center, appears for his arraignment in Chattanooga, Tenn. Federal investigators said Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016, that Brewer failed to slow down in a construction zone, was probably fatigued and had taken methamphetamine to stay awake. Brewer's tractor trailer crashed into multiple vehicles on Interstate 75, killing six and injuring six others on June 25, 2015.

Public defenders for the truck driver charged with killing six people in an Interstate 75 crash want out-of-town jurors to visit the crime scene during his upcoming trial to "get a lay of the land."

"It's highly relevant," attorney Erinn O'Leary said Tuesday in Hamilton County Criminal Court. "Because the state has to show intoxication was a proximate cause and, in fact, there were many other factors that contributed to the accident."

Prosecutors say Benjamin Brewer, 41, was driving for far longer than the legal limit and was high on drugs when his truck plowed into stopped traffic near exit 11 on I-75 in Ooltewah on June 25, 2015. The impact killed six people, injured several more and spawned numerous lawsuits in state and federal court asking for damages.

O'Leary argued construction had started several miles down the road, traffic had backed up, and cars were stopping suddenly when Brewer approached in his truck.

"You're approaching a place where the road veers off to the left and you don't have an accurate view," she said.

Criminal Court Judge Don Poole has not ruled on the request yet.

Hamilton County District Attorney General Neal Pinkston asked Brewer's defenders to file a formal motion, and he noted the differences between jurors riding in a van around the scene and Brewer riding in an elevated position in his truck.

"They don't have the view the defendant had in a truck much higher than a van," he said.

Brewer's defenders said out-of-town jurors would be necessary because of the publicity the case has garnered since 2015. Judge Poole ruled in their favor on May 8 and said jury selection will begin June 12 at 9 a.m. in Davidson County. They will be bused to Hamilton County from there.

Last week, Poole ruled any evidence collected from Brewer's truck will not be admissible at trial. But he is allowing a blood sample Brewer gave the night of the accident.

Brewer's public defenders have long argued that officers seized their client but never arrested him on scene, meaning any collected evidence was "fruit of the poisonous tree" and needed to be thrown out.

O'Leary declined to comment after Tuesday's hearing. Brewer faces six counts of vehicular homicide, four counts of reckless aggravated assault, and one count each of driving under the influence, speeding, and violation of motor carrier regulations.

Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow him on Twitter @zackpeterson918.

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