A sadness could be felt throughout the biggest courtroom at the Orange County Courthouse Tuesday. Two families were broken. An aisle divided them into sides.
On one side sat the family and friends of Riley and Emily Portie, a couple with five sons, the youngest days away from high school graduation.
On the other side were family and friends of 30-year-old Travis O’Brian Collins, described as “a good guy” by those who know him.
Collins on the evening of Sunday, May 24, 2015, made the decision to drive a friend’s pickup truck while drunk. Even though his friends riding inside pleaded with him to slow down and stop running ‘stop’ signs, Collins continued. The truck was going so fast it went airborne at the inclined railroad tracks on Park Avenue. The Dodge truck landed on top the motorcyle the Porties were on. The truck traveled yards dragging them underneath.
A veteran police officer called it the worst accident he had seen in his 20 years on the force.
Testimony Tuesday was that Collins had a blood alcohol level of 0.20, two and a half times the legally drunk level of 0.08. The blood sample was taken after police contacted the district attorney’s office to get a judge to issue a search warrant. Collins did not voluntarily give the sample for testing.
Earlier this month Collins pleaded guilty to two counts of intoxication manslaughter. He faces two to 20 years in prison for each charge, but he is also eligible for probation.
A seven-man, five woman jury will decide what sentence to give him after listening to testimony in this punishment trial before 128th District Court Judge Courtney Arkeen. Collins last year was declared incompetent to stand trial and spent time in a mental hospital. His lawyer is Luro C. Taylor of Houston, a member of the Texas Christian Criminal Lawyer’s Association.
Assistant District Attorney Philip Smith worked Tuesday to lay out the complete criminal case against Collins, even though he pleaded guilty.
The trial showed citizens will step forward to help. Shatonya Freeman was sitting down to supper with her family at their house in the Old Orange Historic District. The collision was by their house and everyone heard the crash.
She was in school studying to be a registered nurse, so she ran outside to help. “I saw a motorcycle appearing to be coming out of the grill of the truck,” she told the jury. Two people were bent over the motorcycle.
Mr. Portie didn’t have a pulse, but she could tell he still had life. Mrs. Portie “was breathing, kind of raising her head. She couldn’t respond to questions,” Freeman said.
At one point, she started crying. “I couldn’t save them at the time.” Since the accident, she has been talking to counselors. However, the tragedy has affected her daughter and her mother, who were also there, more, she said.
Cedric DeClouet was walking on 12th Street at Park, hear where the pickup came to a final stop on top of the motorcycle. “The truck “landed on to of them,” he said and then both continued to go forward. He said the male driver got out saying “What did I do? What did I do?” DeClouet got the man to sit down and tried to calm he. “He was scared,” he said.
Prosecutor Smith showed surveillance pictures from the Park Avenue medical center, where the offices of the late Dr. Howard Williams were and the now-closed Sholars Drug Store. The photos captured the collision.
Smith also showed the body camera recording of Patrol Officer Jana Goins. She was at the scene of the collision and took Collins to the Baptist Orange Hospital Emergency Room. Jurors sat still while watching the video.
The recording includes Collins’ mother and wife sobbing at the scene of the wreck. He kicks at the patrol car windows from the inside. Officer Goins never loses her cool, but calmly tries to talk him down. He talks about drinking gin and 40 ounce malt liquor. He also refuses to believe people died.
As the recording played, Collins hung his head while sitting at the defense table in the courtroom. A box of tissues was by him. He used the tissues to wipe his eyes.
Former Orange Police Lieutenant Eric Ellison also testified. He is now retired from Orange and is a patrol officer with the Bridge City Police Department. He talked about how officers managed to get the identifications from the Porties. They were also carrying mail that they had apparently picked up at the post office nearby.
Ellison went to the Porties’ house, where he found their son, 18-year-old Kazzie, who was scheduled to graduate from Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School six days later.
Ellison stayed with the teen until family came to the house. He also convinced Kazzie to continue with graduation. The officer, wearing a dress uniform, met the graduate at the ceremony and gave him a hug. The photo made national news.
Kazzie, who is now a firefighter with the Beaumont Fire Department, said the loss of his parents has affected his family. They no longer get together at Thanksgiving and Christmas. He went a year without talking to one brother. His parents “were the glue” that binded the family.
He said he wants to see justice for his parents come from the trial. “But closure is going to be something I find for myself in the future,” he said.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
The post Collins Trial Underway appeared first on KOGT.