All three friends who were with Ryan Kanost the night he was killed testified in Douglas County District Court on Thursday.

Kanost was killed in a hit-and-run accident in the early morning hours of September 23, 2006. Josh Walton, former University of Kansas student, is charged with involuntary manslaughter, driving under the influence and failure to stop at an injury accident in relation to Kanost’s death.

According to reports from that night, Kanost and his friends were leaving a party at which they had been drinking beer. According to witnesses, as they crossed the intersection of 13th and Kentucky streets, a white Toyota Camry driving over the speed limit struck Kanost. He died on the scene.

Walton turned himself in to police the next day after hearing of the incident from his friends. He told friends he thought he had hit something, but he did not know what it was. Reports showed that Walton’s white Toyota Camry was severely damaged on the right fender.

Walton’s trial, which started on Monday, detailed the accounts of police response to the situation and witness accounts of the situation.

On Thursday, witnesses testified that a northbound car sped through the intersection they were crossing and barely missed students Kale McLin, Brandon Seitzer and Nicole Schenfeld. The car struck Kanost, who was trailing a few feet behind.

Walton’s lawyer, Tom Bath, is disputing the charges. The state wants to convict Walton of involuntary manslaughter while under the influence of drugs and alcohol, which is a felony and carries a minimum of two and a half years in prison. Bath is seeking a lesser charge of vehicular homicide while driving in a manner that creates unreasonable risk of injury. The maximum sentence for that crime is only one year in prison and up to $2,500.

Enoch Jennison, 2006 graduate, testified on behalf of the prosecution. Jennison was not with Kanost and his friends, but was walking on the street near them. Jennison said he saw Kanost get hit. He said that Kanost flew to the side of the road near a fire hydrant. Jennison said he was not sure whether the driver braked, but by the time everyone understood the gravity of the situation, the car was gone. Jennison said he called 911. The paramedics asked him to check whether Kanost was breathing. He was not. Jennison told paramedics that he thought Kanost had died.

Seitzer, Kanost’s roommate and former University of Kansas student, testified that he saw a white sedan heading in their direction before he crossed the intersection at 13th Street, but that he felt safe enough to cross. Seitzer testified that the car came faster than he expected, so he jumped to get out of the way. Seitzer said he saw the car speed away, but could not recall whether the car slowed down. When he turned around, he found Kanost on the ground. He wasn’t breathing.

McLin, Kanost’s former neighbor and former University student, said they were on their way to Seitzer’s car. He said that Kanost was the designated driver and the most sober of the group, but according to Walton’s attorney, Kanost had been over the legal limit to drive.

While testimonies differed about the order in which the students were walking, they all agreed that Kanost was the last to cross the street.

The car was South of 14th Street when the group of students entered the intersection, according to all the witnesses. By the time they had made it halfway across, McLin testified, the car made it an entire block to the intersection on 13th Street.

When Bath pointed this out on a diagram, McLin answered, “Yes. That is what was so amazing about it.”

A fourth witness, Kyle Courtney, who saw the accident from a house adjacent to the intersection, testified that he saw the car traveling fast down the west lane of the intersection. He said he saw a man jump out of the way and an article of clothing fly in the air. He said he heard the screeching of tires as the driver hit the brakes, but did not stop.

When Judge Robert Fairchild called a recess halfway though the trial, a woman on the right side of the court let her whimpers turn into tears. Walton heard her and stiffened up. He did not turn around, but put down his head and folded his hands in front of him until the jury left and the woman quieted. Walton was the last to move after the dismissal.

The defense will present their witnesses today.

— Edited by Jared Duncan