People who went to the Waukesha Christmas parade in 2021 with their families testified on Wednesday their heartbreaking stories when the moment Darrell Brooks drove through and hit either themselves or their children. Their anger and frustration towards Brooks, who is representing himself, was visible when he proceeded to cross-examine them.
Adam Bonesteel, who was driving a vehicle in the parade, stated he saw the SUV Brooks is accused of driving right by his own vehicle. As the SUV passed him by, Bonesteel said he saw a woman get hit, her head snapped back, and landed on the hood of the SUV before eventually falling off. Bonesteel initially thought the woman who was hit was his wife. He threw his vehicle in park and ran over to the body. At that point he realized it was not his wife, which then caused him to wonder where his wife was before eventually finding her.
Parade attendee Matt Harris testified his 7-year-old daughter was hit by the SUV and suffered several broken bones to her foot, tibia, and fibula. Being a combat veteran, he said he was not used to seeing such chaos in what would normally be a safe environment.
Daniel Knapp said his 3-year-old daughter flew about 15 feet down the street after getting hit by the SUV.
"I noticed my daughter had a significant amount of blood on her face. She was conscious" and had a look of fear and confusion.
Knapp identified Brooks as the driver while testifying with Brooks repeating his objection that he does not consent to be called "Darrell Brooks."
Witness identifies #DarrellBrooks as the driver.
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) October 12, 2022
Prosecutor: Let the record reflect that the witness has identified the defendant, Darrell Brooks.
Brooks: Objection, I do not consent to being called that name nor do I know any individual by that name. #SovereignCitizen pic.twitter.com/DzeEd6Ug15