“When I heard the bang I looked and I saw the car, the SUV was actually flying in the air” said Selena Martin. That’s the last thing the Harrisburg resident remembered before the SUV landed on top of her in April of last year in Harrisburg. Every day since then has been a struggle. “Broken pelvis in four places, collapsed lungs, broken ribs, broken shoulder, broken spleen, smashed legs, smashed arm” said Martin.
It’s because of this that it’s hard for her to look Christopher Slaughter in the eye. He’s the man prosecutors said was driving the car. The trial began Monday morning with jury selection in the Dauphin County Courthouse. Martin described what it felt like to see Slaughter’s face for the first time in court. “I feel disgusted because doing a little jail time is nothing compared with taking somebody’s life. He could have taken my life” said Martin.
Prosecutors said Slaughter also could have taken the life of Harrisburg police officer Daniel Pieper, who was critically injured in the crash, when Slaughter tried to flee after being pulled over. “I know that Mr. Slaughter was certainly not intending to cause any harm to anyone” said defense attorney Jay Whittle. The Assistant District Attorney said “It’s the whole not the parts. We’re going to present our case and let the jury decide.”
In the meantime Martin is trying to cope with her new reality. “I used to jog. I used to ride a bike. I used to do a whole lot of things and now I can’t do anything” said Martin.