Witnesses testify about first fatality, other injuries in Waukesha Christmas parade trial

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WAUKESHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The Darrell Brooks trial continues Tuesday with witness testimony of the first fatality in the Waukesha Christmas parade attack.

Jackson Sparks, an 8-year-old walking in the parade with his baseball team, was struck and killed.

Blazers Baseball President Jeff Rogers said he was there with his three kids.

Rogers said he heard screaming before seeing the red SUV approach the group. He said he immediately moved his closest daughter out of the way and began searching for his two other kids.

That's when he found Sparks.

"Jackson was motionless on the ground, eyes open, didn't appear to be aware," Rogers said.

Rogers said he was unsure if Sparks was alive at that time. He later learned Sparks died from his injuries.

Brooks took a moment to dab his eyes with a tissue and took a deep breath before starting his cross-examination of Rogers.

He also took a notecard out of the Bible he keeps with him in the courtroom.

Sparks' older brother and two of Rogers' children were injured in the parade, according to testimony.

A Blazers coach also testified about his injuries sustained from the parade.

Witnesses said they heard the sounds from behind them change before they ever saw what was coming. By the time they did see a red SUV, it was nearly too late to prevent everyone from getting hurt.

Kelly Grabow said she and her now 10-year-old daughter were walking in the parade with Burris Logistics.

She told the court she heard screaming behind her and turned to see what was going on.

"As I turned, all I seen was the hood of a red vehicle, and I hit the red vehicle and rolled down to the side and landed directly between the Burris Logistics float and the red vehicle, and I seen the tire go directly in front of my face," Grabow said.

Grabow said she immediately got up and searched for her daughter.

"She was lying in the middle of the road and there were some people around her trying to help her and her shoes were down the road as well as her glasses," Grabow said.

Grabow said her daughter was treated at Children's Wisconsin for severe bruising, a broken hand and road rash.

Grabow said she ignored her injuries until her daughter was home safe. She then was treated for ligament damage, bruising and road rash.

Two former Waukesha Xtreme Dance coaches testified about the moment the car struck multiple dancers in the group.

"I thought maybe there was brake failure happening because it was going so fast," Jaimie Sutton said. 

Alyssa Gajewski teared up as she watched video evidence of the incident.

Gajewski said she was at the hospital with some of the girls.

"I was holding her hand, trying to get her to squeeze my hand so she could like stay awake, but she was going in and out of consciousness. She was asleep and then she would wake up sobbing," Gajewski said.

A Waukesha police detective testified about a speed analysis conducted on the car Brooks allegedly drove through the parade. He said it predicted the car was going between 33 and 34 miles per hour at one point during the parade.

The judge, once again, commended Brooks for asking cogent questions when it's his turn to cross-examine witnesses.

An attorney not associated with the case, Julius Kim, told CBS 58 Brooks is learning how to defend himself on the fly, and he's not doing a bad job.

"He's kind of getting the hang of this, how this all works, and I think that he also has the benefit of seeing how the state is presenting their case," Kim said. 

Kim said Brooks' defense strategy is coming into focus. It appears to be a three-pronged attack: identification, intent and sovereign citizen.

Brooks is quick to object to a lot of the state's questions.

Dorow told the defendant he's not always stating those objections correctly. For example, Brooks objects for reasons of hearsay, when it is not.

Kim said that is one of the disadvantages to self-representation.

"He has a limited scope of knowledge in terms of what grounds to object, and I think that's hurting him a little bit, and it's been frustrating to watch from an observer standpoint," Kim said.

Kim said the state is also objecting a lot. 

"I think they're adapting, and it's starting to feel a little bit more like an actual trial where you would have two attorneys on each side going at it," Kim said.

Kim told CBS 58 the prosecution should be cautious about overplaying their hand. 

"A couple of times, I've noticed they've played videos multiple times with the sound up, and it almost started feeling a little gratuitous, quite frankly," Kim said.

Kim said there's been cases reversed on appeal in the past for being unfairly prejudicial and having more evidence than necessary.

More of the state's witnesses will be called to testify Wednesday morning.

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