SUMTER, S.C. -- A Hartford, Conn., man speeding from police chasing him in connection with a robbery intentionally steered his car off a rural highway, slamming into a state troopers car and killing him, prosecutor Kelly Jackson said at the opening of the man's trial.

Eric Ridel, 36, is charged with murder in the death of 29-year-old Senior Trooper Jonathan W. Parker in May 2005.

"That day, he made a decision that put into play a series of events that would otherwise turn a bright spring day into an ugly one," Jackson said during his opening statement Monday.

But Ridel's lawyer said the wreck was an accident. "There was a senseless loss of life, there's no doubt about it. But there's no evidence that he willfully decided to run into the back of this officer's car and kill him," Public Defender Jack D. Howle Jr. said.

Ridel was being chased by police at speeds up to 100 mph up Interstate 95 after a convenience store was robbed in Walterboro about 70 miles from the wreck, authorities said.

Troopers had placed strips with spikes on the interstate to stop Ridel, but he got off at the state Highway 527 exit, Clarendon County deputy Mack Kennedy testified.

Kennedy lost sight of Ridel's Thunderbird after it exited I-95. He said he came upon the crash and helped arrest Ridel.

Other witnesses have told police Ridel intentionally steered his car into Parker's cruiser, which authorities said was completely off the road, waiting to join the chase.

Parker's car slammed into the woods and erupted in flames. Ridel tried to run away, but was captured after an officer fired several warning shots, Kennedy said.