Jeremy Lane reenters the courtroom after a short recess Tuesday. The grand jury trial of Lanes, who is accused of vehicular homicide in the 2009 death of Susan Wood, a Unum employee, began Tuesday afternoon with opening statements and the testimonies of the first witnesses for the state.Chattanooga police officers and a store clerk said in court today that Jeremy Allen Lane "reeked of alcohol" and had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech when he claimed to police that his car had been stolen after a hit and run on Dec. 23, 2009, that killed Susan Wood.
Lane's trial on charges of DUI and vehicular homicide in the Unum employee's death began Tuesday.
Prosecutors in Hamilton County Criminal Court spent Wednesday reconstructing Lane's actions. Pinkston and District Attorney General Bill Cox say Lane left his work at the Chattanooga Billiard Club at about 7 a.m. on Dec. 23 following a four-hour after party at the club, where employees drank alcohol.
Wood, a 42-year-old mother of two , was walking to work at Unum.
Prosecutors allege Lane, 26, was driving toward the North Shore when he hit Wood with his car at the intersection of Walnut and Fourth streets. Wood died from injuries in the crash that day.
Assistant District Attorney Neal Pinkston questioned police who found and photographed Lane's red Nissan 240SX sports car.
Photographs of the car showed a dented hood and smashed passenger-side front windshield. On Tuesday, forensic pathologist James Metcalfe testified that Susan Wood's injuries matched up with damage to the car.
Also Tuesday, Lane pleaded guilty to filing a false report and leaving the scene of an accident.
The trial will resume on Thursday at 9:30 a.m.