Ms. Morgan is accused of striking and killing 63-year-old Bertha Kitchen and her 3-year-old granddaughter, Samantha, with her vehicle as the two walked along the berm of state Route 36 in Mahaffey Borough.

In his opening statement, Clearfield County District Attorney William A. Shaw Jr. told the jury that Ms. Morgan had been returning from a methadone clinic and had been under the influence of drugs at the time of the accident.

Ms. Morgan's attorney, Brian Manchester, countered that the commonwealth had to prove that the drugs in his client's system rendered her incapable of operating a motor vehicle. Mr. Manchester maintained that Ms. Morgan had been run off the road by a tractor-trailer that had entered her lane of travel, causing her to lose control of her vehicle.

The morning began with testimony from Lori Barnett, a Mahaffey resident who was helping her daughter cross SR 36 on July 25. Ms. Barnett said that around 11:30 a.m., as she was helping her 9-year-old daughter cross the road, she looked both ways and saw a blue car coming around the curve, but figured her daughter had enough time to safely cross the road. Ms. Barnett also noticed a tractor-trailer pass the blue car in the opposite direction.

The woman said that shortly after her daughter crossed the road, she heard a loud noise and saw the blue car coming through a piece of split-rail fence. She noted that she had seen Ms. Kitchen and the woman's granddaughter walking along the berm earlier.

Part of the fencing that was hit by the blue car struck Ms. Barnett's daughter and the girl ran into a neighbor's house.

Ms. Barnett then testified that she spoke with Ms. Morgan, the driver of the blue car. The woman asked if she hit Ms. Barnett's daughter and said that a tractor-trailer ran her off the road.

Vicki Hullihen, who also lives in Mahaffey, told the court that she was watching television on July 25 when she saw a car come through her yard and smash her split rail fence. She described hearing a loud thud and smashing sounds. She then heard Ms. Barnett's daughter pounding at the door because she had been hit by a piece of fencing.

Ms. Hullihen testified that Ms. Barnett then appeared and directed her to call 911 because two people had been hit. When she called, she said that 911 had already received several calls in relation to the accident so she grabbed a CPR mask from her vehicle and ran to the scene. There, she saw Ms. Kitchen and her granddaughter in the grass off of the side of the road.

She spoke with Ms. Morgan, the driver of the vehicle, and asked for her identification. Ms. Morgan said she didn't have her insurance card with her and refused to tell Ms. Hullihen her name. She admitted that she didn't know where she was. Ms. Hullihen said Ms. Morgan appeared to be under the influence of something and had glassy eyes and constricted pupils.

Ms. Hullihen said she became angry in speaking with Ms. Morgan and told her that she had killed two people and damaged her property. Ms. Morgan replied that she had been run off the road by a truck and "closed her eyes and started hitting stuff."

A third witness, Douglas Turner Sr. of Mahaffey, said he had been talking with a neighbor on the morning of July 25 when he heard tires squeal. He then saw a car go off the road, bounce across an alley and come to a stop in a yard after the trunk popped open.

Earlier, Mr. Turner saw Ms. Kitchen pushing her granddaughter in a stroller along the side of the road. The woman was concerned because she had lost money and went back to look for it.

When the car went off the road, he ran to the scene of the accident, where he found Ms. Kitchen and her granddaughter lying in the grass near the road. Parts of the stroller were scattered about the area.

During Mr. Turner's testimony, some family members of the victims became emotional and exited the courtroom.

The man with whom Mr. Turner had been talking at the time of the accident, Steven Wilder, said that he heard a scream followed by a thump that morning. When he turned toward the noise, he saw a car go off the road and observed dust flying. Mr. Wilder then responded to the scene with Mr. Turner, where they found the Kitchens.

Corporal John Burke, a collision analyst and reconstruction specialist, told the jury that he was assigned to reconstruct the July 25 accident that occurred on East Main Street (SR 36) in Mahaffey.

He determined that the driver of the vehicle drifted off of the right side of the road, struck two pedestrians and traveled through a yard and an alleyway before the vehicle vaulted and became airborne. It rolled through two fences then came to rest in a yard after the driver applied the brakes.

Cpl. Burke testified that no skid marks were present on the roadway to indicate that Ms. Morgan used the brakes prior to striking the pedestrians. He said that after the two were hit, the vehicle continued in a straight line for 180 feet. He said that, while it is difficult to quantify the exact speed of the vehicle pre-impact, he estimated that Ms. Morgan traveled at a speed of 25 to 35 miles per hour before hitting the Kitchens.

Cpl. Burke pointed out that the weather conditions on July 25 were sunny, warm and dry. He inspected Ms. Morgan's vehicle and found no mechanical malfunctions that could have caused her to leave the roadway. The corporal also educated the jury about perception-reaction time. A normal, unimpaired driver typically reacts within .75 to 2 seconds after encountering a situation. However, he estimated that Ms. Morgan's reaction time was between 4.09 and 4.91 seconds, which he said is "significantly higher" than normal. He noted that, unlike Ms. Morgan, a normal driver would typically hit the brakes after a significant impact, such as striking a pedestrian.

Following the accident, Ms. Morgan was taken to the Punxsutawney Hospital for evaluation and was interviewed by Trooper Emery Faith. On the stand yesterday, Tpr. Faith reported that Ms. Morgan seemed to be unable to keep her eyes open as he spoke with her, despite her claim that she was not tired. Tpr. Faith transported Ms. Morgan to the police barracks in Punxsutawney. He noted that Ms. Morgan expressed concern that she thought she may have hit and killed two people, but he was unable to provide her with details.

The woman said that she had consumed no alcohol that day, but was under the care of a doctor for depression. At approximately 9:30 that morning, she said she had consumed 120 mg of methadone at the clinic and took buspar and klonopin the previous night.

Tpr. Faith said Ms. Morgan failed the field sobriety tests he conducted and that her reactions were poor. He noted that her speech was slow and raspy and that she exhibited signs of being under the influence of drugs.

The final witness of the day, Deputy Coroner Michael Polachek, confirmed that the elder Kitchen died on July 25 from massive blunt force trauma as a result of the accident.

The child died from blunt force trauma to the head, neck and trunk, also a result of the accident.

The commonwealth planned to present testimony from two more witnesses when the second day of trial resumed at 9 a.m.