DES MOINES, Iowa — Both the state and the defense rested their cases Tuesday afternoon in Day 4 of the trial of Keith Jones, the second suspect charged in the deadly Fleur Drive drag racing crash.
The state's final witness, the owner of the Wicked Rabbit, explained the kind of alcohol her business sells.
Following that witness, the state rested after three days of testimony, allowing the defense to begin their witness list.
The defense called one expert who disputed the state’s claim that Jones was intoxicated while driving, as well as the passenger in Jones’ car the night of the crash.
The passenger testified on Zoom, saying that she believed Jones wasn’t drunk when they left the bar and she wasn’t paying attention to his driving.
The key witness from the defense was the defendant himself.
Jones took the stand and explained to the jury his every move while driving the night of the deadly crash.
“Why did you slow down when you approached those cars?” Defense Attorney Van Plumb asked.
“Because I wasn’t racing,” Jones responded.
Jones testified that he is generally a fast driver and he knew that Robert Miller III, the other driver convicted in the crash, had intentions of racing.
“I was trying to just get away from him at that point," Jones said. "At first I was trying to get him to slow down, but he wasn’t trying to listen."
Leading up to the crash, Jones said he thought Miller was far behind him, until he saw him speed past, lose control and be thrown from his car as it split in half.
Once Jones saw the crash, he testified that he turned around and stopped at the scene.
Jones said he walked through the scene and people were already there helping, so he focused on helping his friend.
“He had blood coming from his nose a little bit, and he just wanted me to you know, go get his family, tell his mother, go get his mother,” Jones said.
Later, Jones found out he was a suspect and his personal information was posted on Facebook.
“They started putting threats on social media about, you know, burning my house up, shooting my car up, all kind of stuff like that,” Jones said.
As a reaction, Jones sent his car to be evaluated to try and show that he didn’t apply gas at certain times, in hopes of proving his innocence.
The court will hear closing arguments Wednesday morning.