A former Dothan police officer said a Georgia woman traveled too fast on Ross Clark Circle during rainy weather before a crash that killed her 11-year-old son.
State Trooper Robert Green, who formerly served as a Dothan police officer, said Crystal Finnegan exceeded the posted speed limit by at least 25 mph during a rainy afternoon at the time of the crash.
Dothan police charged Finnegan, 30, of Columbus, Ga., with felony manslaughter and two felony counts of first-degree assault. She was charged with causing the death of her son, Rippen Upton. She was also charged with assault for the severe injuries to her second son, 9-year-old Brody Upton, and Diana Combs, who was traveling on a church bus which collided with Finnegan’s vehicle..
The crash happened around 1:45 p.m. on June 29, 2008, in the 400 block of Ross Clark Circle after Finnegan's pickup truck hydroplaned on wet pavement, crossed the median into oncoming traffic and crashed into a 2004 Ford church bus.
Green was one of several people to testify Monday for the prosecution led by Assistant District Attorney Banks Smith. The state was expected to continue their presentation of evidence on Tuesday.
Green said his conversation with Finnegan from her Flowers Hospital room left him shocked after she told him she'd been driving 75 mph at the time of the crash.
"She told me she was driving a pickup truck," Green said. "She told me she was coming back from Fort Walton Beach and headed to Columbus. She told me she definitely knew what her speed was, and she told me she had her cruise control set on 75."
Green said during cross examination by Finnegan's attorney, Matt Lamere, that he did not ask medical personnel whether Finnegan had been medicated for any injuries she might have suffered. Green said medical reports show Finnegan had morphine in her blood during their conversation.
Lamere also questioned Green why he didn't tape record the interview with Finnegan.
Dr. Nick Voss said he treated Rippen Upton at Southeast Alabama Medical Center for a head injury. He said blunt force trauma from the crash led to his death.
"He was in a coma, and he had really no evidence of brain activity," Voss said.
Voss said Brody Upton also suffered a life threatening head injury from the crash.
"He did have some evidence of brain function," Voss said. "He was on a ventilator."
Voss said Brody Upton was transferred to a hospital at University of Alabama Birmingham several days later.
In other testimony, Lester Combs said he attempted to avoid a collision with Finnegan's truck as he drove a bus that carried about 20 youth from Centenary United Methodist Church in Lexington, Ky. He said they were on their way to Panama City Beach, Fla., on a mission trip. He said the front of the bus struck the front passenger door area of the pickup truck.
Combs choked back tears as he testified about trying to help his wife, who was unconscious from the crash.
"I was driving 35 because of the rain and I had all those children," Combs said.
Lester's wife, Diana Combs, testified she suffered a shattered pelvis, a broken her arm and bleeding to her brain during the crash.
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