Woman Accused Of Killing Five In Court

A Tulsa woman will go to trial in the hit and run deaths of five people last November. News On 6 anchor Terry Hood reports testimony on Monday was sometimes gruesome and very emotional. At one point the judge had to call a break to give one witness the chance to compose himself. In the end, the judge ordered Kimberly Graham to stand trial on five counts of manslaughter.

Kimberly Graham is accused of running over five people outside the Backyard Bar in November. Casey Jones, Shannon Lacy, Anita Foote, and Ronny Coatney were helping Ronny's wife DeAnna. Her motorcycle had fallen over in the middle of Memorial Drive. Krissi Iwanenko was Casey Jones' fiancée.

"I'm here for Casey, first and foremost, and for our child. I need to hear it, I need that. I need to be here through it all," said Krissi Iwanenko.

Several witnesses described what they saw that night. Including one who said a blue Dodge pickup was swerving in and out of traffic at a high rate of speed driving north on Memorial. Three witnesses who were also helping DeAnna Coatney described watching the truck run over the five victims then speed away without stopping.

"I just can't imagine seeing all those people, or my Casey, any of those other people. A lot of them were friends with him. I just can't imagine them seeing them like that," said Iwanenko.

During the hearing, Kimberly Graham admitted she was driving the blue Dodge truck that hit the victims. Her attorney says Graham feels a tremendous amount of grief, reminding the court she turned her self in the next day.

"She's openly sobbed when we've talked about the victims in this case and the great loss of life, as she was openly crying in court today," Defense Attorney said Kevin Adams.

But, Adams says police never determined Graham was drunk that night. This despite admitting to investigators she had six beers and three mixed drinks before the crash. Adams wanted the charges reduced but the judge disagreed. Family and friends of the victims are pleased with the decision, but say there are no winners in this case.

Kimberly Graham's family declined to comment after the hearing. She'll be formally charged in district court next month.