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MINEOLA, New York (AP) -- A packed courtroom silently watched as a video revealed the final seconds of flower girl Katie Flynn's life: the sudden sight of oncoming headlights and the crunch of a pickup truck striking her limousine head-on.
Family members cried and wiped away tears as prosecutors played the clip for the jury before resting their murder case against Martin Heidgen, who is charged with killing 7-year-old Katie and the limousine's driver in the July 2005 crash.
Prosecutors said Heidgen, with his blood alcohol level more than triple the legal limit, drove the wrong way down a highway and plowed into the limousine, as Stanley Rabinowitz drove the little girl and her relatives home from a wedding reception.
The clip was made on a dashboard security camera that faced the road.
"I just watched my entire existence in five seconds," said Katie's father, Neil Flynn, after the video was played. "That's the definition of my life now."
The video, played a single time on a large screen, showed the limousine traveling south in the left lane at about 2 a.m., when headlights are seen also in the left lane in the distance.
As the two vehicles moved perilously close to each other, it appeared as though both drivers veered slightly into the center lane before the sound of crumpling metal and screeching tires can be heard. Five other members of the Flynn family were injured.
Once the prosecution rested its case, acting state Supreme Court Justice Alan Honorof denied a request from defense attorney Stephen LaMagna to dismiss the charge of murder by depraved indifference.
The defense called Heidgen's mother, Margot Aponte, who told jurors about his move from Arkansas to Long Island and of his work as an insurance salesman.
Heidgen, 25, of Valley Stream, was charged with murder, DWI and other charges in an unusual move by prosecutors. Most drunken driver cases involving fatalities result in lesser charges; Heidgen faces 25 years to life if convicted of murder.
The jury may also consider a conviction of second-degree manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide, which carry lesser sentences.
Authorities say Heidgen had a blood alcohol level of 0.28 at the time of the fatal crash, while the legal limit in New York state is 0.08.
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