BEAUMONT, Texas — Testimony continued Thursday in the the trial of a man charged in the 2021 death of a 6-year-old boy.
Carter Osborn was six when he was hit by an ATV at Tyrrell Park on May 8, 2021. ATVs are not allowed at Tyrrell Park.
Following the incident, Osborn was taken to a Southeast Texas hospital where he later died. A forensic pathologist testified that the young boy sustained a multitude of injuries that were "not survivable."
Darrell Brown Jr. is the driver accused of hitting and killing Osborn. Brown is charged with second-degree manslaughter. If Brown is found guilty, he faces anywhere from two to 20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
The judge proceeding over the trial is Judge Raquel West. The prosecutors in the trial are Tommy Coleman and Ashley Molfino, and Brown’s defense attorney is Marcus Wilkerson.
On Thursday, Carter Osborn's mom, Taylor Osborn, took the stand.
She testified that the ATV Brown was riding that day was very loud. She said that it was a “beautiful day,” and there were not other cars parked in the area near hers.
Taylor Osborn said there was nothing obstructing the view of anyone riding an ATV in the area.
Prosecutor Coleman asked her if she had been drinking that day and she said yes, but was not intoxicated at any point. She also testified that she shared a blunt of marijuana with her friend, but didn't smoke enough to be affected.
Coleman asked her how fast she estimated the ATV that hit her son was going and she said around 45 mph.
Taylor Osborn testified it appeared he was increasing speed as if he was about to do some kind of trick on the ATV. She broke into tears as she described the wounds she saw on Carter Osborn.
The mother testified that she was screaming at someone to call 911 while she held her son.
After a recess, Taylor was back on the stand as proceedings continued Thursday afternoon.
Coleman played body camera video that showed her at the hospital following the accident. The video showed her crying as she told the officer the man who hit her child ran away after the accident.
In cross examination, Wilkerson began by apologizing to Taylor Osborn about the death of her son.
He asked her if she saw the four-wheeler flip and she said she heard it. Wilkerson asked her if she was getting something out of the car when this happened, which she said she was.
Taylor Osborn once again told the court she shared a blunt with her friends that day.
Wilkerson asked if she knew it was illegal to park on the grass where she was parked, but said she only saw a sign that said no ATVs.
On Wednesday, lead investigator Troy Wagner took the stand.
Wagner investigated the scene at 9 p.m. night of crash.
The following morning, Wagner walked the scene, marked the skid marks and a divot from where the ATV flipped
Wagner observed skid marks, a ditch near the area of impact that may have caused the ATV to flip and a blood mark on the grass.
Wagner estimated the ATV weighed about 650 pounds. Wagner agreed with Prosecutor Coleman that more damage equals more speed.
Wagner and the jury reviewed drone footage from the following morning of the scene, which showed paint marks on the skid
Prosecutors used a park bench, which measured out to be 7.5 feet, to mark out the length of the skid.
The skid was calculated to be 37.5 feet. When the ATV flipped, it went 15 more feet before striking Osborn.
The ATV continued a little more distance before coming to a stop, according to Wagner.
Prosecutors and Wagner agree 67.5 feet was the total length of skid.
The jury watched Wagner's recorded interview with Brown from the night of the crash.
In the interview, Brown says family members were switching off and on the ATVs. Brown claims he was riding for five to 10 minutes before crash
He says three kids came running out from a parked car. He claims he the brakes and flipped the ATV, causing the ATV to fall on top of Osborn.
Brown estimates he was going from 20 to 25 mph.
After the crash, Brown approached Osborn, but family came towards him yelling.
Brown claims he went to his uncle's truck and locked the door until police showed up.
In the interview, Wagner agreed that Brown waiting until police arrived was the right move.
Brown told Wagner his own kids and grandkids were there when the crash happened.
Both he and Wagner concluded Brown was sober when the crash happened. In the interview, Brown emotionally stated it was an accident.
Wagner also talked about the city ordinance against ATV, testifying that most vehicles, including ATVs are allowed on the road, but not on grass.
Wagner did agree with the defense that those driving ATVs that day were breaking city ordinance by being on the grass, which could be considered reckless in itself.
Wagner talked about Brown's probable cause affidavit being for criminally negligent homicide, but that it’s not uncommon for a grand jury to change the charge to something else, in this case manslaughter.
The court took an extended break Wednesday afternoon so that Judge West could review the spousal immunity exception before calling on Brown's wife, Ebony Brown, to take the stand.
Spousal immunity refers to the right of a spouse not to testify against the other spouse and belongs to the spouse called upon to testify.
Ebony Brown was later called by the state to the stand.
She questioned and repeated “I don’t want to testify," but later said she was only at the park for ten minutes and was not present during the crash.
Ebony Brown told Wagner during a prior interview with the Beaumont Police Department that the park was overcrowded and she felt “anything could happen.”
She talked to her husband on phone after crash, he told her “it doesn’t look good, can you hurry up and come.”
During the cross-examination with defense, they pointed out Darrell Brown could have fled after crash, but didn’t.
Ebony Brown testified there were “too many people there, period," which made her worry something bad would happen.
She thought riding ATVs was okay because she saw at least 40 others at the park that day.
Ebony and Darrell Brown are from Louisiana, so they didn't plan to stay at the park too long that day, according to Ebony Brown's testimony.
A witness who saw the crash first-hand, took the stand Wednesday.
She didn’t know the Osborn’s or the Brown's, but was parked nearby
“Nobody ran out in front of that 4 wheeler,” she testified. “I have nightmares about this.”
She described the screams she heard from Osborn's after the crash.
“I couldn’t stomach it,” she said.
Related: Man charged with manslaughter in 2021 death of Carter Osborn speaks publicly for the first time
Coleman began opening statements Tuesday by telling the jury they were there because Brown recklessly caused the death of Osborn.
Coleman said multiple people were riding ATVs at the park and others called 311 to express their concerns about the threat the vehicles posed. He told the jury several announcements made over a loudspeaker instructed those riding the ATVs to put them away.
The prosecutor said Brown disregarded signs at the park that indicated the ATVs were not allowed.
"He was showing off for a couple of ladies who were there," Coleman said.
Coleman told the jury they will see where the ATV locked the brakes which caused it to skid because Brown “was going so damn fast.” The ATV slid, hit, and flipped on top of Carter Osborn.
The prosecutor said the jury will see Osborn’s autopsy and bodycam footage from the day of the wreck.
Coleman told the jury there may be some dispute as to if Carter Osborn ran from behind a parked car. Regardless of if that is true, Coleman said evidence shows the wreck would not have happened if Brown was not speeding.
Prosecutor Coleman said whether or not Osborn's death was an accident is not relevant. He told the jury they need to decide if Brown was operating the ATV voluntarily and recklessly and asked the jury to find Brown guilty.
Related: Family of 6-year-old killed in ATV accident holds press conference to demand 'Justice for Carter'
Attorney Wilkerson told the jury “it’s going to be painful” to listen because the case involves the death of a 6-year-old boy. He said Osborn was with his 8-year-old brother when the deadly wreck happened.
Wilkerson said evidence will show their mother was not near her children when the wreck took place and did not see it happen.
The attorney told the jury Brown risked his life to try and avoid hitting Osborn and claimed Brown was not drunk or high. He said evidence will show the accident did not happen because Brown was acting in reckless disregard of the risks involved in riding an ATV in the park.
Wilkerson said Brown was 30 yards away from where he going to return the ATV, which means he could not have been going 45 mph. If Brown had been speeding, Wilkerson claimed he would have crashed into where he was returning the ATV.
Wilkerson told the jury evidence will show at least 100 ATVs were being driven in the park the day the accident happened.
Brown's attorney said there was an area where the ATVs were riding and an area where vehicles were parked in general. He said evidence will show that the ATV issue is a "red herring" because the ATV could have easily been a 5,000-pound vehicle that hit Osborn.
Wilkerson told the jury that if the prosecution does not prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, they need to acquit Brown.
Related: Family continues fighting for justice in death of 6-year-old boy killed by ATV at Beaumont park
The first person called by the prosecution was Rita Hall, the manager of Tyrrell stables. She testified that she saw a large gathering and was concerned something happened.
Hall said she took pictures of the people gathering and called the police.
The second witness one of the Beaumont officers who responded to the scene of the deadly crash. He said he first went to the park that day about a call for trespassing and warned ATV riders to stop or they would be towed.
The officer said he considers an ATV to be a deadly weapon
He was called back a little more than an hour later regarding a major crash. The prosecution played multiple 911 calls where people could be heard screaming, “They hit the baby. They hit the little boy.”
The officer testified to seeing around 800 people there when we came back for the crash. He called it a "chaotic scene."
The officer detained Brown, brought him in for questioning, and later took him to jail. He did not believe Brown was intoxicated.
The third person brought in for questioning was another officer who responded to the scene. He testified that he saw Carter Osborn on the ground with blood on his face and in the grass.
The officer watched medical professionals perform CPR.
The prosecution showed the jury pictures of the ATV involved in the crash. They pointed out damage to the left side, which included dents on the back and front left of the vehicle and a bent handlebar.
The fourth and final person to take the stand Tuesday was Dr. Ray Fernandez, a forensic pathologist. He testified via Zoom as an expert witness.
Dr. Fernandez said he did the autopsy on 6-year-old Carter Osborn. Autopsy photos were shown to the jury. The defense objected to two of the photos but Judge West overruled the objection.
When asked to describe the wounds to Carter Osborn’s head, Dr. Fernandez said the 6-year-old had a fractured nose, a laceration above his eyebrow, a fractured cranium, a tear above one of the eyebrows, and contusions to the upper and lower lips.
Dr. Fernandez testified that Osborn’s upper jaw was fractured and his lower jaw had a “U-shaped” tear in the skin. The doctor also described the damage Carter Osborn suffered to his brain.
"This is severe head trauma,” Dr. Fernandez said. “It's the type you see in a motor vehicle collision. It's the type you see with that kind of force.”
Prosecutor Molfino asked Dr. Fernandez if someone could survive the type of injuries Carter Osborn sustained.
“This is a vital organ that has had significant trauma,” Dr. Fernandez said. “In my opinion, this is not survivable.”
During cross-examination, Defense Attorney Wilkerson asked Dr. Fernandez if law enforcement sometimes waits to hear from a pathologist before proceeding in a case. The doctor said law enforcement does sometimes need an autopsy to guide their investigation.
Wilkerson asked if an autopsy of a crime could sometimes be the deciding factor if the injuries a person sustained were caused by an accident. Dr. Fernandez gave examples of how this could be determined in some situations.
The defense attorney also asked Dr. Fernandez if the 6-year-old's injuries could have been caused by someone moving Carter Osborn after the accident. Dr. Fernandez said the injuries were too severe to have been caused by moving the child.
Related: Family continues fighting for justice in death of 6-year-old boy killed by ATV at Beaumont park
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