NEWARK, Ohio — It took less than one day for the defense to present its case for Jacob McDonald.

What You Need To Know

  • Both the prosecution and defense rest their case in the Jacob McDonald trial

  • The defense presented two expert witnesses, one collision expert and one digital forensic expert 

  • The judge will announce Friday the day he'll announce his finding, which could be as early as next week

Calling just two witnesses to the stand, focusing much of its attention on McDonald’s AT&T Phone records and how fast he was driving. 

Collision expert Sebastian Van Nooten analyzed the topography of I-70 in Licking County, where the crash took place in November of 2023. He said McDonald didn’t behave recklessly but also didn’t react fast enough to brake. 

“I can't see that there's anything to suggest other than he didn't reduce his speed and avoid a crash. But there's nothing that I see in the data that I'm looking at that suggests that he's driving recklessly,” said Van Nooten. 

But prosecutors pushed back, even second guessing Van Nooten’s ability to analyze the situation and his knowledge of recklessness. 

“I'm looking at and offering opinion, the determination of recklessness is up to the trial and the facts not an expert,” said Van Nooten.

“One-hundred percent agree, sir. Here's what my problem is. In your direct testimony, you were asked whether or not it was only negligent, not reckless, and you had no difficulty answering that question,” said prosecutor Clifford Murphy.   

McDonald’s phone records have been a hot button topic throughout this trial. Records show that McDonald’s phone was receiving data around the time of the crash but digital forensic expert Anthony Gentile said that doesn’t necessarily mean he was holding his phone.

“It's using data when it transmitted it to your device, ready for you to view whenever you would view it. But you do not have to take it out of your phone or accept that message. The message comes through and that data is transferred to your phone without you having to do anything to manipulate the device,” said Gentile.   

Experts from both sides said there’s no way to tell which apps McDonald might have been using at the time because his phone was destroyed in the crash. With this being a bench trial, it’s now just up to the judge to make his finding, something that could happen as soon as early next week.

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