Reina Alexis Cota died in the crash, holding her sister’s hand from the driver’s seat.
It was Feb. 21, 2021, and a driver had just raced through a red light, smashing into the side of the 2009 Chevrolet Malibu Cota was driving, a prosecutor told jurors.
“Is everyone okay” and “did I hurt anyone,” Jesus Ismael Rodriguez asked a Pima County Sheriff Department deputy at the crash scene early that morning in the intersection of South Campbell Avenue and East Bilby Road.
Rodriguez is on trial in Pima County Superior Court on suspicion of first degree murder, aggravated assault, criminal damage, unlawful flight from law enforcement and extreme DUI, court records show.
Just prior to the deadly wreck, a deputy had tried to stop a speeding 1998 Jeep Cherokee, following it through a nearby apartment complex, Deputy Pima County Attorney Erica Gee Lynch said Monday in opening statements. She later played footage from a sheriff’s department air unit, which was tracking the vehicle.
In the black and white footage, a vehicle was driving through an apartment complex with another vehicle following him. The vehicle briefly stops before exiting, but before the deputy could make contact, the vehicle drives away, eventually crashing into Cota and her sister.
Lynch told jurors that following the crash, a deputy had noticed the driver of the vehicle, who was identified as Rodriguez, was incoherent and smelled like alcohol. His blood alcohol concentration level was 0.187, which is twice the legal limit.
Rodriguez’s defense attorneys told the jurors he had unintentionally caused Cota’s death and to “divorce emotions and look at the facts.”
His attorneys also argued that he didn’t flee since the deputy was not in active pursuit at the time of the accident, stating that he deputy had turned his lights off and went into “surveillance mode.”
Debra Lopez, who was at the intersection during the crash, testified she saw the car speed through the red light and crash into the Malibu. She then ran to the car to help.
During cross examination, Lopez said the deputy’s lights came on after the accident happened.
Deputy Nathan Meeboer testified he was the second to arrive to the crash. When he spoke to Rodriguez, he asked if everyone was okay or if he hurt anyone.
Cota’s sister, Mariah, was the day’s final witness. When asked to speak a little about Cota, she became emotional.
The sisters were driving home from their nephew’s birthday party when the crash happened, she said.
While she doesn’t remember much, the sibling testified she remembers asking the people around her to check on Cota.
Mariah was later taken to the hospital for her injuries. When she awoke, she remembers asking for her sister.
To this day, she said she still struggles with knee and back issues, she said.
The trial is scheduled to continue into next week.
