JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Three mothers of teenagers who died when an SUV overloaded with Ed White High School students skipping school crashed on Interstate 295 came to the support of the boy on trial in connection with the accident.
Brandon Hodges, who was 15 at the time of the June 2008 crash, faces eight felony charges after police said he was driving the SUV without a license when the left rear tire separated and the vehicle flipped over, ejecting most of the nine teenagers inside.
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"I'm ready to let her be," mother Bobbi Krebs said outside the courtroom. "I won't be there to see her graduate."
Kimber Krebs, along with Erin Hurst, Johnathon Keily and Dennis Stout, died either that day or later at the hospital. Four other teenagers were injured in the wreck.
Video:Reporter Blog:Brandon Hodges On Trial
Despite her loss, Kristina Keily is attending the trial in support of Hodges.
"This kid keeps pictures of everyone in the accident above his bed, every day. He's been through a lot," Keily said. "I've seen my son's autopsy photos. I can't imagine seeing that live."
Hodges attorneys blame the SUV rollover on tread separation and a faulty tire, but prosecutors said the SUV was 240 pounds over its weight limit.
Hodges is charged with four counts of driving without a license causing a death, four counts of driving without a license causing bodily harm and one count of careless driving.
The focus of testimony Monday was not whether Hodges was driving without a license, but whether he should be held responsible for the deaths.
Both the prosecution and defense rested late Monday afternoon. The trial will resume at 10 a.m. Tuesday for closing arguments.
Judge Jeff Morrow agreed to restrict public access to the trial, as a result of a rare motion sought jointly by the prosecution and defense. Morrow said he granted the motion "due to the confidential nature of the information in this case."
Duke Fagan, Hodges' lawyer, said he asked for the order to protect his client.
"Brandon Hodges is a young man, just like other children, and this may have a deleterious effect on him, and it may have a damaging effect on him in helping him to grow up," Fagan said. "It's happening to him when he's a child and not an adult. So it may follow him in life."
The state attorney's office said it has no opinion whether the trial is open or closed to the public.
Morrow allowed one pool reporter access to the trial, but the closure order includes lawyers or experts connected to civil lawsuits related to the crash. Because the cause of the accident is believed to be a blown tire, one lawsuit has already been filed against Cooper Tire, and others are expected.
The criminal trial was delayed many times, including for the arrest of Hodges' lawyer on domestic violence charges. If the judge finds Hodges guilty, the sentence could range from probation to juvenile detention.