Trial begins for man charged with murder in DUI car crash that killed a former U of L cheerleader

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The man charged with murder in the deadly drunken driving death of a former University of Louisville cheerleader in 2016 was back in court Tuesday morning for the beginning of his trial.

Bradley Caraway was 34 at the time of the crash. Police said Shanae Moorman was a passenger in his car, which crashed and flipped on the ramp from Interstate 64 East to the Gene Snyder Freeway early on a Saturday morning in August 2016, but she was the only one at the scene when they arrived.

Caraway was found walking down a ramp from the Gene Snyder Freeway onto Taylorsville Road, about 2 miles from the scene of the crash.

"The forensic examination puts him as the driver of that vehicle," said Lt. Joe Seelye, Commander of the Louisville Metro Police Traffic Unit.

And court documents showed Caraway has at least one DUI conviction at the time of the crash.

In court Tuesday morning, Judge Ann Bailey Smith gave more details about what could be expected during the trial and how jurors would be selected. She said Caraway's first blood draw was suppressed from the case, but two other blood draws had the appropriate warrant and would be included.

There was also discussion about whether or not the prosecution could take the jurors on a field trip to see Caraway's wrecked car in person. The defense argued it's been six years, the car has been through a lot, and the integrity of it is not intact. Smith ruled the prosecution would not take jurors out of the courtroom to see the car. Rather, she would allow photos to submitted as evidence.

Another discussion involved jury selection and whether or not potential jurors could be told Moorman was a U of L cheerleader. The defense said jurors would have bias because people in Louisville love U of L. The prosecution argued the fact she was U of L cheerleader is how the case has been covered since the crash and is imperative to determine if a juror has a preconceived bias about the case.

Smith decided jurors would be told Moorman was a cheerleader, not that she cheered for U of L.

Smith said her first concern is getting enough jurors who can commit to the possibility of the trial taking two weeks. That will be the first question posed to the pool of 53 potential jurors called to court Tuesday.

It wasn't clear when opening arguments could begin.

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