A man accused of driving drunk, fleeing an officer and causing a double-fatal collision in Grand Forks entered not-guilty pleas to nine charges Wednesday in a courtroom packed with friends and relatives of the crash victims.
Following Celso Garza's arraignment, the victims' supporters milled in the hallway outside the courtroom, consoling each other.
"I was hoping he'd plead guilty so that way the family can just move on, and we don't have to go through all the trials," said Carol Bjarnason, an older sister of James Freestone who was killed in the crash.
UND police said Garza was stopped early June 5 at Columbia Road and University Avenue for running a red light. As an officer approached Garza's vehicle, Garza sped south on Columbia, reaching an estimated speed of 100 mph.
Garza's 1995 Chevrolet Lumina broadsided a 2009 Pontiac G6 at Columbia and 17th Avenue South, about a mile from where Garza was pulled over. Katie Olson, 22, was driving the Pontiac. Michael Badurek, 18; Tasha Brenno, 19; and Freestone, 21, were passengers.
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Brenno, along with Freestone, was killed in the crash. Badurek and Garza were treated and released from the hospital the same day, while Olson suffered a broken jaw and fractured bones in her neck, requiring a longer hospital stay.
Olson's mother, Sandy, said Wednesday that her daughter is out of the hospital and "doing well." The wires on her jaw have been taken off, and after Friday, she may not have to wear a neck brace. Olson had ankle surgery a week ago and is expected to recover from that in the next three months, her mother said.
Olson plans to start classes Monday at Northland Community and Technical College in East Grand Forks. She did not attend Wednesday's hearing with her mother.
"She wasn't ready to face that yet," her mother said.
Garza, 24, is charged with two felony counts of homicide while fleeing an officer and two felony counts of assault while fleeing an officer, along with four misdemeanor charges.
Garza, of East Grand Forks, is being held on $105,000 bail at the Grand Forks County jail. He is set for a pretrial conference Oct. 21. If convicted of all charges, he would face a maximum prison sentence of more than 63 years.
