Jury deliberations underway in trial of woman charged in crash that killed MU students

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A jury now holds the fate of the woman accused of causing a crash that killed two Marquette University students last September. Forty-two-year-old Amandria Brunner could face life in prison as she faces six felony charges.  

Her defense has relied heavily on the speed of the other driver involved -- Peter McColgan. He appeared in court Wednesday with his attorney, though he didn't testify. 

"Respectfully, I will be asserting Fifth Amendment right," McColgan said. 

McColgan was driving the vehicle with five other Marquette University lacrosse players inside when it crashed with Brunner's vehicle in the intersection of N. 27th St. and W. St. Paul Avenue.  

A reconstruction engineer showed us how Brunner was fully stopped at a left turn lane, driving through a yellow light, which then turned red as she got to the intersection. She hits the car driven by McColgan, which then hits a pole. 

Twenty-year-old Noah Snyder and 19-year-old Scott Michaud were killed. 

Brunner's blood alcohol content came back above the legal limit at .133. She also had THC in her system. 

The defense made sure to point out that there were six people in McColgan's car, though there were only five seats, also noting he was speeding, going 53 miles per hour in a 30 mile per hour zone. 

"Even 2.7 seconds before the second when he was going 56 mph and he was transitioning from accelerate to brake, if he had braked hard at that point, he would've been able to stop before impact area?" defense attorney Abigail Ruckdashel asked. 

"Probably would've been at the intersection, but would've been further south," said Zachary Bingen, reconstruction engineer with Skogen Engineering. 

Of note from the gallery, there have been about five people sitting on the side of the defendant the past two days, but on Wednesday, as her defense team makes its case, that was tripled, with 15 people sitting in her support. 

There's been a large crowd on behalf of the two victims of the crash--about 40 people-- especially as McColgan took the stand.

Before closing arguments began, two jurors were struck -- both women. One said she wasn't sure she could be impartial as she recognized someone in the gallery on the defense's side, and the other juror had reportedly been falling asleep during testimonies. They became alternates and were dismissed. Jury instructions were then read and closing statements began. 

"We can all agree he was a bad driver," prosecutor Emily Zimmel said. "That's not your decision to make. Your decision is to make if that woman -- the defendant -- exercised due care. It doesn't matter what he did, her actions are what mattered for your decision. His bad driving, anything he did is another decision for another juror." 

"Is Ms. Brunner's drinking responsible for those deaths? The answer is no, because this would've happened at whoever is in this position in that line of cars," defense attorney Abigail Ruckdashel said. "Because that's true, you must find Ms. Brunner guilty -- not guilty. What we're asking you to do is hard."

The jury began deliberating at 3 p.m. and came back with six questions before ending for the day.

Deliberations will continue Thursday morning.