Braylon DavisA 21-year-old man accused of driving under the influence in a 2013 crash that killed his passenger took the stand Thursday during his trial.
"I lost a friend," Braylon Davis told jurors in Hamilton County Criminal Court. "He (Taylor Lee Collins) was a close friend to me. It wasn't years of friendship. But the friendship that we had was worth years. And I'm sorry."
Prosecutors say Davis was intoxicated when he ran a car off South Germantown Road, drove up a hill sideways and crashed into the side of a home around midnight on Dec. 3, 2013.
Collins, his 25-year-old passenger and friend, was launched through the windshield and died from his injuries, prosecutors say.
Davis, who was 19 at the time, was arrested in May 2014 after a grand jury indicted him on charges of vehicular homicide by intoxication, reckless endangerment, minor in possession of alcohol and driving under the influence.
The charges were read aloud at the start of the trial and Davis' attorney, Jay Underwood, said Davis was pleading not guilty to each.
On the stand Thursday, Davis said he had two drinks on the day of the crash while he and Collins were hanging out. He and Collins then had a few pitchers of beer at a different bar around 11 p.m., he said.
Around the time they went to leave, Davis said, Collins got a call from his girlfriend, who was worried about her boyfriend staying out too late and overdoing it.
Collins seemed more intoxicated than him, Davis said. "I felt like I was better off driving than he was," he said.
In the car, Davis said Collins reached over and grabbed the wheel after making flippant comments about wanting to die.
Since they were listening to music and otherwise having a good time, Davis told Collins to cut it out and didn't think much of it. He said his friend, in the past, had made comments like, "death is a beautiful thing."
He told state prosecutor Kate Lavery, "I don't even remember the crash, I just remember waking up in the hospital the next morning."
Lavery, during her cross-examination, called into question his claim that he was OK to drive: "You're telling us and expect us to believe you were perfectly fine operating a 4,000-(pound) vehicle?"
"Yes," Davis replied. "I believe that."
The trial continues this morning in Judge Barry Steelman's courtroom.
Contact Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com. Follow @zackpeterson918.