Rodney Hinton Jr trial: Eyewitnesses describe moment car struck Ohio deputy

Eyewitnesses and first responders told a Cincinnati courtroom on Thursday that Rodney Hinton Jr did not brake before his vehicle accelerated into a turn lane, striking and killing retired Hamilton County Sheriff's Deputy Larry Henderson Jr.

The second day of the murder trial focused on the fast, violent moments of the crash on 2 May 2025. While Hinton's defence team does not dispute that his car struck the deputy, they argue he was legally insane. The defence claims Hinton was in a state of extreme emotional distress after watching police body camera footage of his own son’s fatal shooting earlier that day.

But prosecutors are challenging that claim, arguing Hinton knew right from wrong when he sped into the deputy near Burnet Woods during the University of Cincinnati's graduation weekend.

Witnesses describe sudden acceleration

Witnesses near the scene described a sudden burst of speed with no warning. Kevin Broermann, who was talking to his wife on the phone when the crash happened, testified that he saw the vehicle fly down a turn lane.

"Oh my God, he hit the cop," Broermann recalled telling his wife. He testified that the car made full impact at an extremely high rate of speed, and that he heard no screeching tyres or braking. Broermann rushed to the scene but found Henderson had no pulse and was not breathing.

Another witness, Derek Moore, an employee at the University of Cincinnati, testified that the impact threw Henderson into the air at almost the exact moment the car hit a utility pole. Jurors were shown crime-scene photographs of the intersection, including one that showed Henderson's hat resting on top of the wrecked car.

First responders and family testify

The jury was shown 13 minutes of body camera footage capturing the chaotic aftermath as first responders tried to save the deputy's life. Former Cincinnati police officer Robert Nelson, who was working traffic control with Henderson that day, testified that he saw a black vehicle launch into the air and ran toward the intersection. Nelson described the scene as chaotic and said he was unprepared for what he witnessed.

The most intimate testimony came from Hinton’s cousin, Monique Gilliam. She was with Hinton earlier that day when he watched the police footage of his son's death—something she said family members had begged him not to do. She described him as deeply distraught and quiet, but said he was not hallucinating.

Gilliam was driving directly behind Hinton when they got stuck in stop-and-go traffic near the university. She said he appeared to become agitated before suddenly accelerating. She yelled "no" as he sped off but did not see him hit the deputy.

Under cross-examination, Gilliam recalled that this was not the first time she had been concerned about Hinton's mental health. She noted an incident in 2021 when he seemed "spacey" and disconnected.

The trial is expected to last about three weeks as the jury weighs whether Hinton's immense grief crossed the threshold into legal insanity.