Who was behind the steering wheel is the critical question to be decided by a Porter County jury in determining responsibility for the tragic drowning death of a woman and the catastrophic injury of her toddler son three years ago.
The jury received the case early Thursday afternoon on the fourth day of the trial of Marcus Wright, 35, of Michigan City. He is charged with three felonies and a misdemeanor connected with the crash that occurred March 25, 2022, at an Ardendale Road pond in Pine Township.
Alisa Oman, 22, died as a result of injuries in the crash and Wright and Oman’s son, Marcus Xavier Oman, who is now 4 1/2, suffered “life-altering injuries.”
Deputy County Prosecutors Kiré Pavlovski and Harris Peterson, during their closing arguments, stated that all the circumstantial evidence points to Wright being behind the steering wheel.
Blood tests showed that Wright was twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system and tested positive for marijuana.
Defense attorney Mark Chargualaf didn’t dispute that Wright was intoxicated and that the case “is horrible and tragic.” But Chargualaf said his client was not guilty because he was a front seat passenger in the car and Alisa Oman was driving.
“Marcus has never wavered. He was not the driver and the brakes of the car went out,” Chargualaf said.
After the car flipped and crashed upside-down into the pond, Wright crawled out of the driver’s side door of the vehicle, Chargualaf said.
Other evidence that Chargualaf cited was the expert testimony of Mitchell Kirk, a car mechanic.
The prosecution’s witness had stated the brake fluid could have leaked out when the car overturned. However, Kirk’s testimony for the defense was that the cap to the master cylinder for the brakes looked still intact, so the fluid couldn’t have leaked.
Chargaulaf also pointed to a scrape on the left side of Alisa Oman’s head, which could show that she hit her head on the driver’s side window.
The prosecution team, however, countered that their expert witness showed that the brakes for the 2000 Buick LeSabre were still operational. Peterson noted that the centrifugal force of the car flipping would have caused the injury to Alisa Oman’s head while Wright had no facial injuries.
Another point that Peterson and Pavlovski made was that when Alisa Oman drove the car, she adjusted the seat close to the steering wheel. The seat was back 2.34 feet from the wheel, which was the position Wright liked to drive in.
Peterson also noted that the electrical system would have shut down because the car was underwater, so the seat position couldn’t be moved after the crash.
In addition, Pavlovski cited evidence from Alisa Oman’s text messages to a friend sent that day between 4:25 and 4:31 p.m., minutes before the crash at 4:36 p.m.
One of her last messages concerned how hard it was “hailing and raining.”
“Would she have texted that while driving with her child in the car?” Pavlovski said.
Wright could face two to 12 years and a $10,000 fine for each charge of operating while intoxicated causing death and operating while intoxicated causing catastrophic injury. He also is charged with a Level 6 felony of operating while intoxicated with a child under 18 and a misdemeanor for operation with a blood alcohol above .15 percent.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
