Published: May 21, 2008 02:05 am         

Opening arguments heard in car versus daycare case

GREENVILLE — Prosecutors have alleged Richard Leonor Whytus of Greenville had twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system and was driving at up to 80 miles per hour through a residential neighborhood when his car crashed into a daycare filled with children.

Whytus has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. A jury was selected and opening arguments were conducted Monday in the trial in the 196th District Court.

“All of a sudden, the world just came crashing down,” said Assistant District Attorney Keli Aiken. “When the defendant hit that wall, concrete blocks came flying across that room.”

Defense attorney Peter Morgan told the jury Whytus does not deny being behind the wheel of the car. However, Morgan asked the panel to pay close attention to the specifics in the charges filed against his client, questioning whether they amount to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

“If you follow your oath, I expect you will find there is one true verdict, and that is not guilty,” Morgan said.

Several children and adults were hurt as a result of the crash, Aiken said, with two of the people inside, including a toddler and a Hurricane Katrina refugee, receiving serious injuries.

Whytus was originally indicted on four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Prosecutors added a fifth count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against Whytus through an information complaint at the end of January. That charge was later dismissed. Three additional indictments were returned by the grand jury in February. The three newest indictments also indicate Whytus had a previous felony conviction for aggravated kidnapping on his record.

Whytus has been accused by the Greenville Police Department of being intoxicated when he drove his car into the southwest corner of the building in the 4100 block of Moulton on the afternoon of Jan. 30, 2006. The indictments likewise claim Whytus was driving “in a willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property” and also list the vehicle as a deadly weapon.

Aiken said Whytus was observed by witnesses to be speeding along Moulton.

“He was driving erratically, recklessly,” Aiken said, adding the witnesses watched as the Pontiac Firebird hit the curb, hit a stop sign and crashed into the wall of the daycare, where 11 children were just waking up from a nap.

Aiken said Whytus ran from the scene while one of the witnesses, already on the phone with a police dispatcher, followed until officers caught him a short distance away.

“He didn’t even stop,” Aiken said. “He was out. He was gone.”

Aiken said a computer taken from the vehicle indicated it had been traveling at speeds of between 50 to 80 miles per hour shortly before the crash.

“On a road with a 30 mile per hour speed limit,” Aiken said, noting blood tests revealed that at the time of the accident, Whytus had a blood-alcohol level of .16. The legal limit for intoxication in Texas is .08.

Morgan asked the jury to think dispassionately about the case and not to allow “emotional bias” get in the way of their deliberations.

“Keep an open mind,” Morgan said.