CHP officer takes the stand in fatal Fresno DUI case

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- One of the first California Highway Patrol officers to show up to a fatal drunk driving crash in 2011 -- told the court what he saw.

Perla Vazquez is on trial for the murder of Frank Winslow. She had two prior DUI convictions at the time of the deadly collision on Highway 168 near Shaw.

Vazquez did not show much emotion when Sergeant Mike Trenholm described finding 54-year-old Frank Winslow still seat-belted and dead inside his overturned Jeep Wrangler.

Sgt. Trenholm said, "We responded with the intentions of rendering aid but, we didn't because based on the fact that he was obviously deceased, we began the investigation."

Winslow's widow has been watching the proceedings, and put her head down when the officer described him slumped over.

A blood sample was taken from Vazquez two-and-a-half hours after the crash, when Vazquez woke up in the back of a patrol car.

A criminalist, who analyzed her alcohol content, told jurors what forensic tests revealed.

Tia Spurgeon said, "It is my opinion that a person with a 0.13 percent of alcohol concentration in the body is too impaired to operate a motor vehicle."

Defense attorneys say the customized jeep seat, installed by the victim could've possibly been a factor in Winslow's death, instead of the impact.

Investigators say the physical evidence left behind showed the jeep was rear ended with some force.

"Based on the fact that it was struck from behind while moving, I believe that the momentum- the forward momentum of the jeep actually caused the vehicle to overturn."

Investigators say Vazquez had just left a concert at the Rainbow Ballroom before the crash. A damaged guardrail also shows where the black Infiniti sideswiped it during the collision.

If convicted Vazquez could spend up to life in prison.