Multiple ASU students took the stand in South East Superior Court on Tuesday as witnesses in the trial of Mark Torre, a Phoenix attorney accused in the hit-and-run death of ASU freshman Jessica Woodin.
In a case expected to last two weeks, Torre has plead not guilty to the charges of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of an accident.
Torre, 29, holds degrees from ASU and Harvard Law School. He allegedly struck Woodin with his 2001 black Ford Mustang as she walked across the intersection of Apache Boulevard and McAllister Avenue at 2:10 a.m. on Aug. 18, 2001.
Woodin, a native of Red Bank, N.J., was pronounced dead at age 18 two days before she was to begin classes at ASU.
The defense concedes Torre did hit and kill Woodin but denies fault alleging Torre had the right of way and Woodin was crossing the intersection illegally.
"He's apologetic and remorseful," said defense attorney, Larry Kazan.
Kazan said Torre let everyone down when he drove away from the accident.
After the accident, Torre abandoned his vehicle at 10th Street and Mitchell Drive where the police found it four hours later. Two days later, Torre turned himself in to local authorities.
"He let his community down, he let his family down, and the family of Jessica Woodin when he left," he added.
The courtroom was eerily quiet and somber as each side presented their opening statements and attempted to frame circumstances leading up to the accident.
Nicholas Pitts, a pre-business junior, had been out with Woodin on the night she died and was crossing the street next to her when she was hit.
As Pitts sat on the witness stand, Kazan asked questions focusing on the amount of alcohol Pitts and Woodin consumed and what they had been doing the night of the accident.
Pitts recounted the events of the night that started at an ASU-sponsored "Singled Out" event, an activity designed to help students meet each other, where Pitts and Woodin first met each other.
The two later went to her dorm room to plan activities for the rest of the night, according to Pitts.
"We listened to music, we talked, she made some phone calls, we were going to go to Taco Bell, but then we noticed people going to a frat party," he said.
Pitts said he and Woodin moved on to a party at the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity house on "old row," where he said they both were drinking.
Pitts reported to police that he consumed three beers and three shots of hard liquor at the party — though in a later interview he said he drank only three beers. Pitts said he thought Woodin drank three beers, but was unsure.
"We left the party at 1 a.m., the frats kicked everyone out," Pitts said. "We walked to a grassy area, sat down and talked. Then we left because the sprinklers came on right around 2 a.m."
He said they decided to go on a walk and came to the intersection of Apache Boulevard and McAllister Avenue, where they illegally crossed the street.
"The street signal said not to walk, we looked around, there were no cars," Pitts said. "We continued through the intersection and as we approached the third lane, I saw a car coming."
Pitts said he first noticed the headlights but didn't think the car was going very fast so he didn't say anything to Woodin.
"I heard a loud crash and saw her body fly into the air," Pitts said. "I didn't even think she wouldn't be OK."
The vehicle's impact ripped Woodin's body in half, causing her torso to fly about 270 feet and her legs about 320 feet.
"I started to walk toward Jessica, then I noticed there was nothing I could do," Pitts said. "So I called the police."
Several ASU students who were driving in the vicinity that night witnessed the accident and testified before the jury. Journalism sophomore Sarah Davis testified that she was driving a Ford Escort with her friends when she said she pulled up behind Torre's vehicle at Rural Road and Apache Boulevard.
"Torre and his friend [Paul Nalabandian] were acting juvenile," Davis said. "They were bouncing around in their seats."
Davis also said Torre was revving the engine of his car at the intersection, and trying to get another Mustang in a neighboring lane to race him.
Pre-business sophomore Trevor Theis was a passenger in Davis' Escort.
Theis commented on the speed of Torre's car and said he didn't know Mustangs could go that fast.
"I was pretty impressed by the car, he was out of there," Theis said.
By the time Davis' car had made its turn toward the Hayden Residence Hall, Torre was already a full city-block ahead of them.
After the turn onto Apache Boulevard, Davis said a black Jeep swerved in front of her.
Davis then had to swerve to the right to avoid hitting what looked like one-half of a body in the street.
"We didn't know what it was at first," Theis said. "We thought it might have been someone that had been hit."
After swerving, Davis said she parked her car in a structure near the Hayden Residence Hall.
"We weren't sure what we saw," Davis said. "But we saw ambulances and police cars and decided to go back to the scene and talk to police."
Davis, who was visibly upset on the stand, said it was difficult to testify before the jury.
"It was like reliving the whole experience over again," Davis said.
The defense framed the accident as a message warning against excessive drinking.
"This incident teaches us a lesson about a young woman who consumed more alcohol than she should have," said Kazan. "She ran right into the path of Torre's vehicle."
Reach the reporters at nicole.girard@asu.edu or meagan.pollnow@asu.edu
