CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The trial of Leah Walton got underway Tuesday morning in a Mecklenburg County Courtroom with some emotional testimony.
Walton is accused of killing one woman and badly injuring another on Craig Avenue in an August 2010 traffic accident.
"I can't describe it. I just wanted to die. I wondered why I was still here," said Lisa McIe, who testified Tuesday.
Mcle is the surviving victim, but Susan Karabulut was not as lucky. McIe was knocked out cold by the accident, and she could barely tell jurors what happened when she woke up.
“Waking up five minutes later in terrible pain and finding out that Susan was no longer there,” she said.
Prosecutors say that Walton was looking for a cigarette and was distracted when she ran up on the sidewalk, striking the two pedestrians.
McIe has paid for that mistake with 17 surgeries—her pelvis was crushed and her intestines were shredded.
"It's indescribable. It’s like somebody crushing you, somebody is stinging you, somebody is stabbing you. I just could not believe a human could go through that much pain and I’ve seen a lot."
Last year prosecutors offered Walton a deal that would have sent her to jail for two years. She rejected it and that’s why the case went to trial.
Walton has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, reckless driving, possession of marijuana and other charges.
