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Witness describes moments leading up to crash that killed MSP trooper

BOSTON — The disturbing aftermath of a notorious, deadly crash has been seen for years now, but we're just learning what happened in the moments right before the scene played out.

One of the first witnesses on scene to help Trooper Thomas Clardy took the stand Tuesday in the trial for the man accused of causing the crash that killed the trooper.

The witness was with his fiancée heading back to New York where he works for the NYPD.  He told the court he didn't see David Njuguna's car until it veered right across the highway and then did something else.

"He was going a lot faster than I was," Sgt. Thomas Sorrentino said. "I don't know how fast. [I was going] approximately 75."

Sgt. Sorrentino, who works on the NYPD, was heading west on the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90).  He testified the vehicle that hit Trooper Clardy's cruiser came out of nowhere.

"He cut across the lanes. In the right lane, he hit the shoulder and corrected himself, so he was on an angle when he darted over, hit the shoulder and straightened himself out."

Prosecutors say Njuguna then slammed into the back of Trooper Clardy's cruiser going more than 80 miles per hour.

The prosecution says Njuguna was under the influence of drugs when he caused the deadly crash. On Tuesday, they showed surveillance video of Njuguna buying medical marijuana at a dispensary in Brookline about 90 minutes before.

Njuguna's attorneys are building the defense that the 33-year-old suffered a seizure and this was an accident. The first defense witness took the stand before the prosecution rested for scheduling reasons. The nurse who helped treat the Njuguna was asked about his medical history.

"His response was he had episodes of blacking out," Kerrie Donovan said about her conversation with Njuguna.

The trial resumes Thursday morning with state police investigators expected to take the stand.