Toxicologist testifies in civil suit about Dallas Cowboys player's drunk driving death

DALLAS - An expert witness estimates that Josh Brent had the equivalent of 14 drinks the night he crashed and killed Cowboys teammate Jerry Brown in 2012.

Brown's family believes the bar where Brent and Brown partied before Brent crashed in Irving overserved him and they're suing.

Much of the testimony Thursday revolved around a forensic toxicologist and one of the waitresses who served Brent and his friends the morning of that fatal crash.

Attorneys for Brown’s family said Brent and friends started a night on the town at an Uptown Dallas restaurant where they had dinner and drinks from 9:30 p.m. to11:30 p.m. Brent then went to pick up Brown, his best friend, and the two arrived at Privae, the private club inside Beamers in northwest Dallas, just after 12:30 a.m. Brown family attorneys said about 75 minutes later, at 2:15 a.m., Brent left the nightclub with Brown and within minutes crashed and flipped his car.

Forensic toxicologist Dr. Sarah Kerrigan testified Brent’s blood alcohol level was .189, more than two times the legal limit. She testified the blood draw, taken about an hour after the fatal crash, was reliable and concluded Brent had the equivalent of 14 drinks in his system at the time.

Attorneys for the club argued Kerrigan’s testimony that Brent was not intoxicated when he arrived at the club helps to make their case.

“According to the plaintiffs, they believe that Josh Brent was served alcohol when he was ‘obviously intoxicated.’ Their own expert has now stated in front of this jury that it is very likely that he was not intoxicated when he was served alcohol at Beamers,” said attorney Carlos Cortez.

One of the waitresses serving Brent that evening testified he bought three bottles of champagne and she saw him drink out of a bottle. She did not believe he showed signs of intoxication. 

The defense claims Brent was the sole cause of Brown‘s death because he was drunk and speeding when he lost control of his vehicle.

Brent is also named in the lawsuit but so far has not shown up to defend himself. He is expected to be called as a witness on Friday and could be held in contempt of court if he is not there.