The trial of a Mobile neurosurgeon charged with reckless murder for the drunk driving crash which killed a University of South Alabama medical student got under way Wednesday.

Prosecutors said Jonathan Nakhla was impaired by several hours of drinking alcohol, according to multiple reports.

They additionally said he was driving his Audi Spyder in excess of 135 mph at the time of the crash which killed a passenger in his car, 24-year-old Samantha Thomas.

Nakhla’s vehicle was traveling south on the west Interstate 65 service road in front of the Econo Lodge Hotel on Aug. 1, 2020 when it left the roadway, flipped several times and came to rest in a ditch. Thomas was pronounced dead at the scene, while Nakhla was taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

The black box taken from Nakhla’s Audi Spyder indicated the vehicle was traveling 138 mph just eight seconds before the crash, but defense attorneys claim the data was rendered unreliable due to the crash and because the original engine had been replaced with a Lamborghini engine.

Assistant district attorney Ashley Rich said Nakhla’s blood alcohol content was .11, above Alabama’s legal limit of .08, but defense attorneys said Nakhla had been drinking coffee and suffered a “serious” concussion in the crash.

In videos which the prosecution says Nakhla is seen drinking alcohol, defense attorneys said he was instead drinking coffee. Nakhla’s attorney’s also say another driver caused the accident, cutting in front of Nakhla without utilizing a turning signal.

Two witnesses testified for the prosecution Wednesday, both friends of Thomas who testified about the hours prior to the crash, including Paige Farley, a medical school classmate of Thomas who told jurors Nakhla had been drinking whiskey and wine at the apartment complex where he and Thomas both lived.

Farley testified Nakhla began flirting with her and that she agreed to take a ride with Nahkla after the pool closed at 10 p.m. She described Nakhla as driving in a reckless fashion, according to a report from WALA.

She also said she saw the speedometer go over 150 mph and that Farley put his hand on her thigh twice. She also told Mobile County Circuit Judge Ben Brooks that Nakhla had asked her for sex, but Brooks ruled the jury would not hear that testimony.

Defense attorney Richard Jaffe used surveillance footage from the apartment complex to refute the claim Nakhla was impaired, showing Nakhla walking to his vehicle and opening the convertible’s roof. Farley refuted that assessment.

Thursday testimony began with Mobile police officer James Estes, who was on the scene of the accident. Estes said he arrived at the scene to find Nahkla with blood on his face and the Audi Spyder upside down in a ditch, according to a WKRG report.

Nakhla told Estes to check on Thomas. Estes said he focused his flashlight inside the vehicle and saw Thomas, missing the top part of her head and clearly deceased.

Estes also refuted Nakhla’s statements to police he was driving 50-55 mph at the time of the accident. Estes said he saw skid marks on the roadway which suggested the vehicle had been traveling at a much higher rate of speed.

But Estes’ also refuted Rich’s claim that Nahkla was more concerned with the state of his expensive sports car than Thomas’ condition, saying Nahkla wanted Estes to help Thomas and that Nakhla appeared to be upset.