04:13 PM CDT on Friday, April 7, 2006

By Reggie Aqui / 11 News

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The trial of a doctor accused of driving drunk and running over two women went to the jury Friday afternoon.

His defense attorney said he could prove the women were in the street.

No one argued that Dr. Mark Gilliland was drunk on the night of the accident.  He wasn’t only drunk, but had also taken an Ambien sleeping pill and an anti-depressant the night he went out driving in the Galleria area in his Mercedes-Benz.

The defense worked to prove to the jury that any driver could have caused the accident, regardless of what they had done before the crash.

An accident reconstruction specialist was on the stand Friday, trying to persuade the judge to allow evidence that would show that the two victims were not on the sidewalk, but in the street.

That evidence was allowed, which was important for the defense who was trying to prove the women walked in front of Dr. Gilliland’s car and that he could not get out of the way.

The defense wanted to convince the jury that the doctor’s inebriated state had nothing to do with the accident.  They claim even a sober person would not have been able to avoid hitting the women, causing their serious injuries.

Because the defense was allowed into the testimony, it is very possible the prosecution would want to call additional witnesses to dispute the defense’s arguments, which meant the trial could have gone into a  third week.

But to the surprise of some, the case went to the jury Friday afternoon.