LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A jury heard Wednesday from the driver that Louisville Metro Police Detective Deidre Mengedoht pulled over before police said Roger Burdette crashed into the back of her unmarked car, killing her.
Burdette, a Metropolitan Sewer District driver at the time of the crash, is on trial for Mengedoht's murder.
"I heard an explosion once her car was struck," said Quentin Brady, who Mengedoht had pulled over on Interstate 64 near The Belvedere on Christmas Eve 2018.
Brady said he'd been pulled over for about five minutes before the wreck.
"My truck was sliding across the guardrail, and her car slid in front of my truck. My girlfriend didn't' know what happened. I said, 'A semi hit us,'" Brady said. "(Brady and another witness) tried to get to the cop car, but the flames were up to the handle, and we couldn't get to it."
Prosecutors said Tuesday, the first day of the trial, that Burdette was impaired on drugs he didn't have a prescription for and opened a pornographic video on his cellphone minutes before he slammed his 18-wheeler into Mengedoht's car. And Sgt. Michael Johnson, who conducted Burdette's field sobriety test, testified he failed eye tracking, standing on one leg and walking a straight line.
Roger Burdette in the courtroom, as his murder trial begins in Louisville. Oct. 26, 2021
"I felt like he was under the influence," Johnson said. "I had reason to believe he had taken a narcotic based on the constriction of the pupils and his demeanor at the scene of being extremely nonchalant and relaxed. I saw no emotion from him the entire time."
Burdette's defense attorney pointed out he had surgeries on his knees, which could contribute to his balance.
Also coming to light in the first days of trial is video captured right after the wreck, even before emergency crews arrived. It shows UPS pilot Jeff Scott and his wife, Angela, on the scene.
"The car was on fire," Jeff Scott said on the stand Wednesday after the video was played for jurors. "It was smoke, flames and then the guns started going off in the car ... her ammunition.
"I know is sounds hero-ish, but I wanted to try to save her."
The Metropolitan Sewer District truck driven by Roger Burdette on Dec. 24, 2018 after it hit Det. Deidre Mengedoht's Louisville Metro Police cruiser.
"Jeff looks at me and says, 'I tried. I tried,'" Angela Scott said on the stand. "And I said, 'I know you did.' And I said, 'Is there anything we can do?' And he said, 'No, we can't do anything.' And we got in the car and we left."
Burdette was charged with murder, wanton endangerment and DUI and fired by MSD about a month after the crash. The company settled with Mengedoht's family for $10 million.
Jurors heard the state's side of the case Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday, prosecutors plan to bring the MSD truck and the charred remains of Mengedoht's car for the jury to see for itself.
Once the prosecution wraps up, Burdette's attorneys will present his defense. The trial is expected to go into next week.
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