Pubdate: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 Source: Houston Chronicle (TX) Copyright: 1999 Houston Chronicle Contact: http://www.chron.com/ Forum: http://www.chron.com/content/hcitalk/index.html Page: 13A Author: Steve Brewer WIDOW TELLS OF LIFE AFTER FATAL CRASH Truck Driver'S Trial In Punishment Phase The woman who survived a freeway crash that killed her husband and three young children said Monday she rarely smiles anymore. "Sometimes I smile because people are so nice to me, and I know they need to see me smile and they're scared I'm not going to make it through this," Lisa Groten told jurors in the punishment phase of Jose Coronado Martinez's trial. Jurors took an hour Friday to convict Martinez, 35, and now must decide if he gets probation or up to 20 years in prison for each of the four counts of intoxication manslaughter. Martinez was driving an 18-wheeler that keeled over June 29 on a local freeway ramp and crushed a Ford Expedition carrying Kurt Groten, 38, his wife, Lisa, 36, and their children, David, 6, Madeleine, 4, and Adam, 11 months. Groten testified earlier in the trial, to describe the crash. But on Monday, the composed widow told jurors and those in the packed courtroom about her lost family, their life before the crash and how she feels now. When prosecutor Warren Diepraam asked Groten the last time was she was happy, she replied that it was right before the crash, when her family was in the Expedition together, headed home. She had picked up her husband at the airport that night, and the family was on the Gulf Freeway headed toward their West University Place home when the crash occurred. Witnesses said Martinez was driving at high speed when he suddenly came up close behind the Grotens' car and veered left. The sharp movement caused his load of office supplies to shift, tipping the truck over onto the Grotens' Expedition. The wreckage burst into flames soon after Groten got out. The children were crushed by the impact and died quickly. Her husband was alive as fire consumed the wreck. He died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Martinez's blood-alcohol level tested at 0.11 and 0.12 about 90 minutes after the crash. At the time, the legal standard for drunkenness was 0.10. That's the standard being used in this case. Groten identified charred items from the wreck for jurors Monday, including a stroller, children's books and tapes and toys. She also told jurors why she fell in love with Kurt Groten in 1985 while she was attending the Baylor University School of Law. "Because he had the kindest eyes I've ever seen, and he was a very good person," Groten told jurors. Married in October 1987, Groten said she and Kurt had three bright, loving kids with strong spirits and sweet personalities. She told jurors the only problem they ever had with their oldest son, David, was when he would sneak out of class to go check on his little sister in another class. Groten painted a picture for jurors of an ideal family living in a suburban setting -- well-behaved and loving children, financial security, lots of activities for the kids, a father building a bond with his children and a mother who left her career behind to tend to their upbringing. "I was a good lawyer but I was a much better mom and I felt like my children needed me and we were so blessed to have the opportunity for me to stay home," she testified. "I didn't want to miss a minute of being with them." But on cross-examination, defense attorney Jon A. Jaworski asked Groten about her religious beliefs and whether she wanted revenge. "Do you want a pound of flesh?" Jaworski asked Groten. State District Judge Ted Poe would not let her answer. Jaworski called Martinez's mother, brother, wife, 9-year-old daughter and others to portray his client as sober, religious, generous, kind, loving to his family and friends and sorry for what happened to the Grotens. Maximo Martinez, the defendant's brother, testified that he and his brother fled their native El Salvador because of civil unrest in that country. Many of the defense's witnesses, including Blanca Martinez, the defendant's wife, told jurors they didn't accept the verdict because they still think the crash was accidental and that Martinez was not intoxicated. Closing arguments will start at 10 a.m. today in Poe's court. Martinez can get up to 20 years for each of the four charges, and Poe can order that any prison time run consecutively. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea