Jurors in the trial of a Charlotte woman accused of driving into two nurses and killing one of them heard from the defendant on Friday.

Leah Walton took the stand and sobbed at times as she explained to the jury what happened before and after the crash.

Walton said on Aug. 21, 2010, she took a Xanax, and that night, she smoked marijuana and split a six-pack of beer with her boyfriend and roommate.

She said she woke up the next morning late for work and in a panic but told herself to calm down on the way to work.

Test results showed the marijuana was no longer active in her system by that time.

When prosecutors asked if she knew Xanax could cause drowsiness, Walton said she didn't believe anything was affecting her.
"I wouldn't have gotten in the car if I thought so," she said.

Walton said she saw Susan Karabulut and Lisa McIe, two nurses at White Oak Manor, taking a break on the curb of the sidewalk as she drove down Craig Avenue.

"Do you recall saying, Ms. Walton, that you were not concerned with the people on the sidewalk?" prosecutor Gabrielle Macon asked. 

I believe that is in my statement, yes," Walton said.

She said was reaching down to her purse for a cigarette when she crossed the center line and hit the two women.

Karabulut was killed, and McIe was severely injured.

"I didn't know how it happened," she said. "I felt horrible."

Walton told the jury she had visited the crash site on Craig Avenue to try to understand how it happened and to leave flowers for the victims.

Her attorney, George Laughrun, quoted back a derogatory statement about the two women she made to police after the crash.

"'Those b------ were on the side of the road, and I have to go to jail,'" he quoted, asking Walton why she said it.
Walton burst into sobs.

"I guess it had been such a long day," she said. "I was so scared. I certainly didn't mean it." She also apologized to the victims' families.

"I know there's nothing I'll ever be able to say to make you feel any sort of closure, but I'm so sorry," she said. "If I could take it back, I would."

At some points during her cross-examination, Walton became defensive. Prosecutors asked her about her speed, which police said was about 41 miles an hour when she hit the curb.

"You probably weren't going 30 to 35 then, were you?" Macon asked, alluding to the fact that Walton had been in a rush that morning.
"Yes, ma'am, I was," Walton said.

Macon later asked if she knew the speed limit on Craig Avenue.

"You knew at the time that it was 30 miles per hour," Macon said. "Is that a question?" Walton asked. Macon said yes. "Could you rephrase it as a question?" Walton asked.

"Absolutely, Ms. Walton," Macon said. "You knew that it was 30 miles per hour on Craig Avenue, did you not?"

"Yes, ma'am, I did," Walton said.

Closing arguments are expected Monday morning.

Walton faces charges including involuntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon.