Trial scheduled Tuesday for truck driver charged with LMPD detective's death

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The murder trial is expected to start Tuesday for the man accused of causing a crash that killed an LMPD detective.

LMPD Detective Deidre Mengedoht was killed in a fiery crash on Christmas Eve 2018.

Her police car burst into flames after an MSD tanker truck, with Roger Burdette behind the wheel, hit it on Interstate 64 East in front of the Belvedere in downtown Louisville.

Prosecutors claim Burdette was watching pornography on his cell phone moments before the crash, and that he had drugs in his system that impaired his motor skills.

Burdette, who was not injured in the wreck, failed a field sobriety test and originally told police he had taken non-narcotic prescription drugs. He was charged with murder and DUI and fired by MSD about a month after the crash.

On Monday morning, Burdette's defense attorneys asked a judge to prohibit prosecutors from telling jurors that Burdette was watching pornography when the wreck occurred, arguing that there is a "social stigma" associated with porn and the type of video Burdette was watching is unimportant.

"It doesn't matter what type of video is being played," said defense attorney Amy Hannah. "What matters is (the) distraction."

But prosecutors argued Burdette specifically was looking for a certain porn video that he had watched before, and was not listening to dialogue, meaning he was more distracted.

And Judge McKay Chauvin agreed, ruling pornography is a visual medium and would be a greater distraction than a typical movie.

Chauvin also was leaning toward allowing prosecutors to show texts from Burdette six months before the wreck where he was asking someone about purchasing pills.

Prosecutors argue Burdette did not have a prescription for some of the pills he was on at the time of the wreck.

This story will be updated.

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