Timothy Bakdash took the stand in his own defense on Friday in the murder trial for the Dinkytown car accident that left a University of Minnesota student dead last April, the Star Tribune reports.
According to the Star Tribune, he explained to the jury that Benjamin Van Handel's death was an accident.
"I did not see him on that sidewalk. I did not try to hit him. I did not try to kill him," he told the court.
To convict him of first-degree murder, prosecutors must prove to the jury that Bakdash's actions were intentional and premeditated, the Pioneer Press reports.
According to the Pioneer Press, Defense attorney Joseph Tamburino has said he plans to use a "voluntary intoxication" defense, arguing that his client was too drunk to form the intent the law requires for a first-degree murder conviction.
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