BATH — David Brown, the man driving the Jeep in a fatal hayride crash in Mechanic Falls two years ago, should not be implicated in the fatality because he had no control over the maintenance of the Jeep, his attorney said in court Thursday.

The trial against Brown, who has been charged with reckless conduct for his role in the accident, began Thursday in Sagadahoc County Superior Court.

During opening statements, Allan Lobozzo, Brown’s attorney, argued that the Jeep was deemed safe to pull the hay wagon. He argued that Brown had no control over the maintenance of the Jeep and said that was the job of mechanics at the farm. 

The focus of the defense was on the brakes of the Jeep and its towing capacity of the trailer at slow speeds.

An investigator at the trial testified that Brown told him at the hospital following the crash that the brake pedal on the Jeep went to the floor the night of the accident and that he hadn’t experienced any issues with the brakes until that night. 

This story will be updated.