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Driver testifies in bar fight murder trial Monday

CHARLOTTE — The murder trial against a former UNC Chapel Hill football player continued Monday.

Prosecutors say Kenan Gay pushed a man into oncoming traffic. The driver who hit that man took the stand on Monday.

Lance Cibik hit Robert Kingston more than two years ago. He said he had no time to react. In court, Cibik testified it was like a body had fallen from the sky.

Cibik said he was going about 25 mph when his BMW struck Kingston in March 2012. He said Kingston was essentially falling in front of his car when he hit him. Prosecutors showed pictures of damage to Cibik's BMW from the impact. Cibik lived nearby and was on his way to meet with friends.

He said he had just turned in front of Ed's Tavern in Dilworth when the accident happened.

Cibik passed Breathalyzer and field sobriety tests and has not been charged in the crash.

He testified that at the scene the bar's owner, Allen Cole, told him Kingston had been pushed into the street by Gay.

That testimony corroborated with what Cole told jurors on the stand Friday and Monday.

Defense attorneys said Cole was just trying to cover for his business after workers over-served Kingston, causing him to stumble into the street. A bar tab entered into evidence showed Kingston purchased one beer from Ed's Tavern that night.

A medical examiner testified that Kingston died from blunt force trauma from the impact.

Jurors will visit the scene of the crash so they can get a feel for the spot where the incident occurred.

Court will continue at 9:30 Tuesday morning.