WOBURN, Mass. — The driver charged with killing two people after crashing into a Newton pizza shop took the stand Tuesday in his own defense, claiming he has no memory of the accident.
Tuesday was the first time Brad Casler spoke publicly since his SUV slammed into Sweet Tomatoes pizza shop more than two years ago. Casler tried to explain to the jury what happened.
"I don't know, it haunts me every day. I don’t know what happened. The one thing predictable about multiple sclerosis is that it's unpredictable," said Casler.
>> 'It looked like a bomb went off': Witnesses testify in Sweet Tomatoes trial
Casler, who is facing vehicular homicide charges for the crash that killed Eleanor Miele and Greg Morin told the jury he was under a doctor's care and medication for his MS before the tragedy. But even so, he testified that no one told him he shouldn't be driving.
Then, Casler recounted the minutes leading up to the crash.
"As I'm driving, I felt weird, my body felt strange to me... the car was speeding up, I didn't know what was happening, I couldn't control it at that time," said Casler.
>> Troopers: No evidence driver in deadly Sweet Tomatoes crash hit the brakes
Casler told the jury that's the last thing he remembers, something prosecutors tried to cast doubt on during cross-examination.
Prosecutors showed evidence from three months before the crash where Casler told a friend he had debilitating pain in his right leg, trying to prove Casler never should have been behind the wheel.
Testimony ended with a nationally known specialist on MS.
Closing arguments could come in the next few days.
Follow Boston 25 News reporter Kathryn Burcham on Twitter for live updates:
Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
