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Trucker On Trial For Fatal Tollway Crash Won't Take Stand

(CBS) -- The trucker standing trial for the fiery I-88 accident 13 months ago that left a Tollway worker dead and a state trooper critically injured will not take the witness stand.

Defense attorney Steven Goldman announced the decision after prosecutors rested their case Wednesday in the bench trial, before DuPage County Judge Robert Kleeman.

Goldman then asked the judge for to throw out at least five of the counts facing trucker Renato Velasquez, whom authorities say was fatigued and driving in violation of state and federal law at the time of the Jan. 27, 2014, accident that left Tollway worker Vince Petrella dead and Trooper Douglas Balder in critical condition.

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What is unusual is that Goldman does not contest the log entries that are at odds with phone and IPass entries. His argument essentially is that the state failed to prove that Velasquez falsified the work log while in Illinois. Assistant State's Attorney Nicole Wilkes-English argued that it should not matter where the log was falsified, merely that it was.

Judge Kleeman said he would rule on the motion at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Following the ruling, both sides are expected to offer closing arguments.

Velasquez allegedly dozed off before slamming into Petrella's truck and Balder's squad car as they attempted to help a trucker whose rig had broken down on I-88 near Aurora. The trucker, from Hanover Park, allegedly had driven 37-1/2 hours on 3-1/2 hours of sleep -- far in excess of federal regulations.

Balder and Petrella were trying to remove a stalled 18-wheeler from the tollway when Velasquez plowed into them. Petrella, 39, died at the scene. Balder, 38, managed to crawl from the burning wreckage, but not before he suffered serious injuries – including broken ribs, bleeding on the brain, and third-degree burns.

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