Dramatic 911 Call Played For Jury In Deadly L.I. Road Rage Trial
MINEOLA, N.Y. (CBS 2) -- A stunning 911 call is at the center of a dramatic road rage trial in Nassau County.
CBS 2's Jennifer McLogan has the exclusive audio from before and after the deadly May 2009 encounter.
Jurors were riveted as a dramatic and emotional 911 call was played in the manslaughter trial of accused road rage suspect Evan Potts.
Potts, a 5-foot-8, 140-pound Queens College student, dialed for help from his rented Nissan. Potts claimed he was pursued by a yellow Porsche through the streets of Long Beach.
The Porsche was driven by 6-foot-5, 250-pound Ian Sharinn, who exited his vehicle to confront Potts after Potts cut him off at an intersection.
The jury could hear the chaos in the call.
"Now what the [expletive] are you going to do?" Sharinn is heard saying.
"Oh my God!" said a bystander.
"Sit your [expletive] [expletive] down, dude!" a bystander shouted at Potts.
"I didn't mean to do that!" Potts responded.
"You killed him!" the bystander said.
The victim's family said the call clearly proved intention, recklessness and guilt.
Potts, though, said he was pursued and tracked by an angry, vengeful driver after he'd accidentally cut him off. Potts said Sharinn hit and kicked his rental car and boxed him in, and he panicked.
"The witnesses have said he tailgated him for blocks," defense attorney Stanley Kopilow said. "What was going through Evan's mind when that man in that Porsche was in his rearview mirror for block after block, and then the man gets out?"
Witnesses described how Sharinn seemed to be sucked under the car, his head slammed into the pavement and the Nissan drove over him.
A five-and-a-half-hour videotape was being entered into evidence that apparently shows Evan Potts telling a detective, "I saw an opening to escape. I gunned the accelerator. He jumped in front of me."
Evan Potts was released on bail for the duration of the road rage trial. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
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