Opening arguments in the trial of 59-year-old Susan Moore, who is charged with intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault, began Tuesday afternoon in Bastrop County District Court.
Moore, who is charged with driving while intoxicated and causing a Sept. 20, 2007 car crash on Texas 21 that left an Irish woman dead and two others injured – one of whom lost an arm – pled not guilty to the charges on Tuesday before 423rd District Judge Chris Duggan and a jury of nine women and three men.
Bastrop County Assistant District Attorney Greg Gilleland opened the trial, telling jurors that they will hear ample evidence proving Moore was intoxicated when the crash occurred that killed 39-year-old Eileen McGurk of Belfast, Northern Ireland.
“The evidence will show the victims did not have a chance after they met Susan Moore,” Gilleland said.
Gilleland told jurors they will hear testimony from the Texas Department of Public Safety troopers who responded to the crash and observed a strong smell of alcohol from Moore both at the crash site and after she was transported to University Medical Center Brackenridge in Austin. According to the DPS crash report and courtroom statements Tuesday, a sample of Moore’s blood taken at the hospital hours after the crash tested at a blood alcohol level of 0.18.
The assistant DA also told jurors they will hear testimony from other witnesses to the car crash, as well as technicians from the DPS crime lab who will confirm the blood samples were taken and handled properly.
Gilleland went on to emphasize who will be absent from the trial.
“There is one witness you will not hear from and that’s Eileen McGurk, because she is six feet down,” Gilleland said.
Moore’s attorney Neil Pfeiffer followed Gilleland’s opening statements with a reminder that the assistant DA was only explaining what he expects testimony to reveal, not offering testimony itself. Pfeiffer said he expects to prove there is a reasonable doubt over whether Moore was intoxicated at the time of the crash and asked jurors to refrain from coming to conclusions before all the evidence is presented.
“There is a tendency to believe the first thing you hear,” Pfeiffer said. “We’re asking you to resist that tendency and keep an open mind until you have heard all the evidence. As tragic as it (crash) is and as horrific as these injuries are, this lady (Moore) is not guilty of what she is charged with.”
Moore, who is from Cedar Creek, was on her way home to Bastrop County from her place of employment at Hill’s Café in Austin when the accident occurred at approximately 4:50 p.m. on Sept. 20, 2007.
McGurk was riding in the backseat of a westbound Ford Expedition with her husband Paul. Their friend Patrick McAteer, also of Belfast, was driving the vehicle and McAteer’s girlfriend Sharon Sanders of Nacogdoches was riding shotgun, according to opening statements from prosecution. The two couples were reportedly traveling to visit San Antonio when Moore’s Dodge Dakota swerved off the road, crossed the grassy median of Texas 21 near FM 20 and struck the Expedition.
Eileen McGurk was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. McAteer’s left arm was ultimately amputated as a result of his injures and his spleen removed.