A videotaped deposition of Steven Compton’s testimony was presented to the jury Wednesday in the civil case against Will Rogerson IV, the driver of the truck that struck Mrs. Singley’s car, and TRW Vehicle Safety Systems, which designed the seat belt in the Saturn L300 she was driving.
Mrs. Singley’s family believes her seat belt did not lock properly and contributed to her massive head injury - and eventually her death 18 months after the accident.
Compton, a Fort Hood soldier and licensed combat lifesaver, said he witnessed the accident, called 911 and began trying to assist on the scene.
He said he first checked on Rogerson by kicking on the side of his 1979 F-100 pickup, which was upside down in the street. When he didn’t get a response, Compton said he moved to Mrs. Singley’s car where he said he found her 14-year-old son hysterical in the front passenger seat.
When Compton appro-ached the driver’s side window he said Mrs. Singley was fully upright in the seat but unconscious, with her head slumped forward.
He said he found a pulse in her neck. When he went to clear her airway, he said he found glass in her mouth.
As Compton was attempting to help Mrs. Singley, he said he noticed that her seat belt was loose at the shoulder and waist.
“The shoulder strap was not holding her in any way,” he said.
When he reached through the window and hit the release button, the seat belt did not retract, he said.
“I just moved it to the side,” Compton said.
In a separate video deposition presented on Wedn-esday, Harker Heights Detective Robert McCall said that as he worked accident reconstruction on the scene he noticed the driver’s side seat belt was extended and dangling out the side of the door.
Della Porter of Gatesville took the stand as a character witness for Mrs. Singley and said she had been a friend of Mrs. Singley for years.
She described her as an exceptional mother who lived for her boys and enjoyed having weekend barbecues with the family. She said when she visited Mrs. Singley in the hospital on the night of the accident she was shocked.
“She looked like a monster,” she said. “She was so swollen.”
Mrs. Porter said Mrs. Singley was never able to speak again, although she did see her cry once when she visited her friend at the hospital and accidentally cut her fingernails too short.
“It was devastating for the whole family because they were so close,” she said about the accident.
Compton admitted in his deposition that he and Rogerson were friends and that both frequented races at the Temple Raceway. He denied, however, that he and Rogerson were racing seconds before the crash.
He said he knew his stock Dodge Neon was no match for Rogerson’s truck.
A plea agreement that Rogerson signed with prosecutors on Nov. 2 said he was racing another car before the crash.
Rogerson clarified testimony he gave Tuesday that said he tried to contact the Singley’s the night of the accident.
He said his mother attempted to contact the family that night and later he sent a registered letter to the family.
Expert testimony on seat belts is expected to begin today as the trial continues in 146th District Court.
