Emotional testimony on Day 2 of Witt manslaughter trial

Three of the first people to reach a deadly crash scene east of Bend offered emotional testimony Wednesday on the second day of the manslaughter-DUII trial of Shantel Witt, whose pickup struck and killed cyclist Marika Stone on Dec. 30, 2017.

Daniel Miller, who lives on Dodds Road, said he was planning to go and get a massage he’d received as a Christmas gift when his wife told him about the crash nearby, where Witt’s pickup truck had backed up and people were screaming.

Miller, a first responder at a former job, told his wife he was going to get his medic bag, knowing that something was wrong. He also grabbed two blankets.

Miller told prosecutors he assessed the scene and saw the other two cyclists Stone was riding with and wrapped them in blankets because it was cold.

He also said he heard a woman he later learned was Witt yelling about “****ing cyclists in the middle of the road, shouldn’t be in the road,” describing her speech as “kind of loud and blaming.” He said he never heard her express any sorrow or remorse.

When the other cyclists pointed him to the ditch, Miller said he went over and saw the mangled bike, as well as Stone. “It was really hard to look at,” he said.

Miller said he stood next to Stone’s body for 5 1/2 hours until it was removed by an officer.

He testified he told an officer why he wanted to stay with her body, saying, “It’s not right to leave a woman alone in a ditch like this.”

Miller’s wife, Beth Miller, also testified about the sequence of events, saying her husband said to get orange cones for traffic control. She also said she never heard Witt express concern about the other cyclists or remorse about striking Stone.

Earlier, Tim Peterson, a retiree who lives near Highway 20 and Dodds Road, said he was out for a drive that day in his sports car, along with his brother, and had seen the three cyclists riding single file on the other side of the road. The next time they saw them was after the crash, he said.

Peterson said Witt was screaming, “They were in the middle of the ****ing road. Why were they in the middle of the road?”

He said he talked with the woman and her speech was slurred and it was apparent she was impaired in some way, but he didn’t smell alcohol.

He also didn’t hear Witt express remorse, and under cross-examination by defense lawyer Shawn Kollie, said he told Witt, “You killed a human being. You killed her. Please turn your car off.” He said she did so and tossed her keys onto the other seat.

Earlier Wednesday, Deschutes County sheriff’s Sgt. Kent Vander Kamp returned to the stand and was cross-examined by defense attorney Bryan Donahue about his investigation at the scene. Prosecutors said Witt had nearly a dozen drugs in her system, including Xanax, a sedative prescribed for her dog.

Vander Kamp said he did not see any tears from Witt, just “snorting and snarling and sniffing sounds.”

In an audio recording of the field sobriety test played in court, Witt’s speech was slurred and slow, and she didn’t appear to be understanding instructions. When a deputy asked her to put one foot in front of the other in a straight line, she said, “I can’t do it,” but later said, “I don’t have anything in my system.”