Bishop O'Brien testifies about his actions after fatal accident

Published: 2004-02-10

PHOENIX (CNS) -- Testifying on the witness stand at his hit-and-run trial, retired Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien of Phoenix explained that, even after he heard police were looking for him, he did not think he had really hit and killed a pedestrian. In more than five hours of testimony Feb. 9 and 10, Bishop O'Brien described his actions after his car struck 42-year-old Jim Reed as Reed was crossing a dark street in midblock June 14. In response to repeated questions from both defense and prosecuting attorneys, he said he didn't see Reed either before or after the collision, and that he had no idea what had hit his windshield, causing a loud crash and leaving a clearly visible dent in it. Seeing no obvious cause for the broken windshield, Bishop O'Brien said he drove on to his house, five minutes away, and parked the car in his garage. There, he looked at the damage, but didn't study it closely, he said. It wasn't until later that night that he considered what might have caused the damage, the bishop said, and concluded it might have been a rock or perhaps a dog. If he had any idea he had struck a person, he would have stopped, the bishop said.

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