The man accused of causing a deadly car crash that killed two people who were eating at a Newton restaurant broke his silence when he took the stand Tuesday to discuss what happened back in 2016.
Using a walker, 57-year-old Bradford Casler slowly made his way up to the witness stand on Tuesday to speak publicly for the first time since the car he was driving slammed into Sweet Tomatoes restaurant and killed Gregory Morin and Eleanor Miele.
“It haunts me every day,” Casler said. “I don’t know what happened. I just don’t remember.”
The defense began by introducing Casler, a former commercial real estate broker whose mother just died last week.
“I was the primary health caregiver,” he said. “That was my responsibility, my joy.”
Casler told the jury he’s suffered from multiple sclerosis for more than 30 years.
“My father did have it, prior to his death,” he said. “My younger brother has MS.”
Casler also described what he remembers about the fatal crash.
“I was driving. I felt weird. My body felt strange to me, which has not happened before, and I didn’t know what was going on,” he said.
Casler said he had a valid license and a handicap placard and on days he didn’t feel well, he would not drive, but that it was his choice.
“I was never advised not to drive,” he said.
The judge told jurors to ignore that comment.
But the prosecution hammered Casler, saying he reported debilitating leg pain and problems remembering things to a nurse three months before the crash.
“If it happens when you’re behind the wheel of a car, you would agree that could be a serious problem,” said prosecutor Christopher Tarrant.
“Potentially,” Casler said.
“But you choose to drive anyway?” Tarrant asked, to which Casler responded, “I control myself.”
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