MARQUETTE -- The man accused of a fatal hit-and-run on the 4th of July was in circuit court on Thursday morning.
Thirty-year-old Luke Eugene Huotari of Gwinn is charged with two felonies of failure to stop at an accident resulting in serious injury or death.
Huotari allegedly hit and killed Karin LaChapelle of Marquette. Her husband also suffered serious injuries from the collision, but was released.
In court on Thursday, the defense tried to pass a motion to get an expert to analyze the impact of the car and the victims' injuries. The defense added that there are witnesses who say they saw another truck hit the victims.
"An autopsy that was done on Ms. LaChapelle's body and there are inconsistent findings with that autopsy as to the injuries she sustained compared to the vehicle in which my client was in," said defense attorney, Karl Numinen.
"He said that he hit a dog when confronted on that; he admitted that he knew that it wasn't a dog, that it was a person there or a number of people. There are a number of witnesses that he spoke to including his mother and father," commented prosecuting attorney, Matt Wiese.
Judge Thomas Solka denied the motion of hiring an expert analyst.
A jury trial is expected to continue later this month. Huotari is currently out on bond.
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