Friday,
November 3, 2000
Jury listens to Brock teens case
Sentencing starts for man guilty of intoxication
manslaughter
By Angela K. Brown
Associated Press
WEATHERFORD, Texas - A week before Christmas 1998, six Brock
high schoolers planning a slumber party to celebrate their
basketball game victory piled into a car for a quick trip
across town to rent holiday movies.
At the last minute, two girls decided to ride
with a cousin of one of the teens. Less than an hour later,
those three watched in horror as a pickup truck smashed into
their friends' car traveling in front of them.
The crash killed everyone in the car: Whitney
Welch, 16; Mandi McWhorter, 15; Staci Lee, 16; and Lacey Osina,
17. All were athletes and honor students.
Last week, Rickey Carter, 42, of Fort Worth,
pleaded guilty to four counts of intoxication manslaughter.
The trial to determine his sentence started Thursday after
three days of jury selection.
It was expected to last several days. He faces a
maximum of 20 years in prison.
Brock Anderson, who was driving Sanders and
Whitney Bell, stopped his vehicle and jumped out, screaming
the girls' names. The three rushed to the car, where they saw
their friends bleeding and unconscious, and ran to call their
families and police.
Carter, who was pinned inside his truck, which
had landed on the passenger side, complained of abdominal pain
and said he couldn't breathe well, Weatherford firefighter
J.C. Travis said.
Travis said when he asked Carter several
questions to determine his level of consciousness, Carter
became agitated. Travis also smelled alcohol on Carter's
breath.
"He was cussing quite a bit and demanded
that I remove him, then became evasive" about where he
lived, Travis testified.
Police found beer in Carter's truck. Officials
tested his blood-alcohol level at the hospital twice, with one
result 0.16 and the other 0.18. The legal limit at the time
was 0.10.
But Carter's attorney Jerry Loftin said another
test showed the blood-alcohol level at 0.12, slightly above
the legal standard. He also questioned whether anyone actually
smelled beer on Carter's breath.
Loftin said fog and rain may have been factors in
the wreck and that a third car may have been involved.
However, witnesses and authorities at the scene testified
Thursday that the night was clear and no other cars were on
the road at the time.
Loftin said Carter has been suicidal since the
crash because he has devoted his life to helping
underprivileged children and the community.
Loftin urged jurors to give Carter probation,
saying a prison term would limit his ability to provide
restitution.
The victims' families have filed a civil lawsuit
seeking unspecified damages against Carter.
