While testifying about her daughter's death,Penny Danes became emotional.
She began to cry when she remembered the moment when Ericka's body was tarped over.
She said that her daughter had died on the terrible night.
She buried her face in her arms as she testified in the trial of Noah Motto, who is accused of killing her girlfriend with his truck.
A man is in jail after an argument with a teen.
A man is dead after leaving a vehicle following a crash.
A woman is charged in the death of a biker.
A man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing a pregnant woman in a car wreck.
The jury was leaving the courtroom when the judge ordered a 10-minute recess. She could still be heard crying from the courtroom as she was taken into the jury room.
Motto is accused of leaving the scene of a crash that killed someone and failing to give aid or information. He is being held in a county jail.
There was a fatal crash at 2:30 a.m. on March 24, 2021, at Greenvale Drive and Ormond Green Boulevard.
The fatal night was described in the opening statement by the assistant state attorney.
Motto and Ericka had been dating for a while. Ericka was a soccer player at Daytona State College.
Motto drove Ericka Dane and a couple of other people to a restaurant in Ormond Beach for a meal on March 23, 2021. They went to Walmart to get some wood and then went to a RaceTrac gas station to purchase alcoholic beverages before heading to a bonfire in Ormond Beach.
The group found Ericka's cellphone shattered by the side of the road.
According to testimony, Ericka and Motto were arguing about the phone.
The other couple left in the morning of March 24, 2021. Motto was supposed to spend the night. Motto was allowed by her mother to sleep over.
Motto didn't want to stay that night so he drove away.
Kane said that Motto hit the gas and drove off after Ericka Danes walked up to the vehicle. Kane said that Ericka was killed when the truck hit her.
She does not live. She wasn't able to. Kane said that she was holding onto the vehicle.
Motto was taken into custody at his home in Ormond-by-the-Sea.
Kane blamed Motto for his girlfriend's death.
Kane said that the act of Noah Motto was to blame.
One of Motto's three defense attorneys told the jury that Ericka Dane had a blood- alcohol content of 0.196 that night. Someone is considered drunk to drive.
She died because she fell backwards and hit her head on the road. She said that prosecutors did not document the process of collecting her genetic material from one of the rear tires.
There is no way to know if the sample was contaminated with the Motto's truck's DNA.
Ericka Dane's family has ties to law enforcement and there was a haste to judgement. Ericka's mother is a retired Daytona Beach Police officer and her father is a retired sergeant with the sheriff's office.
The police chief lived in the area.
Before she broke down on the stand, Ericka's mother talked about the scene.
When she heard the door close, she went outside to see what was happening. As she walked down the street, she heard Motto's loud truck.
She said she could see her daughter at the intersection. She said she witnessed the accident.
She hit the ground as she flipped up into the air. Her body bounced after she hit her head hard. Noah left. I began to run towards her. When I got there, I didn't hear anything from her. On my knees I fell. I placed my hand on her shoulder. Blood came out of her head when I looked down at her.
She screamed for help. Someone made a call. First responders showed up.
Todd Foster asked if she could see the intersection from where she was.
She said she could.
Nickole Dane testified that she gained access to her late sister's phone and found pictures of the injuries she sustained when she was hit by Motto's truck. There was an injury to Ericka Dane above the knee and on a foot.
When Motto was at her house, she mentioned the injury to him.
Motto was asked if he could drive in a way in which his daughter would not get hurt.
What did he say to the other person? Kane wanted to know.
Motto replied, "That's what you get when you go up against a big truck."
John Morris testified that he too heard Motto say the comment.
Motto was at the defense table.
The trial is going on.
The Daytona Beach News-Journal originally published this article.
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