'I stepped out of the car and thought ... I'm going somewhere'

Defendant Joyce Howard testifies in her own defense on Friday afternoon at Strafford Superior Court in Dover (Rochester Voice photos)

DOVER - A little over a year ago the defense attorney for the Rochester woman accused of running over and severely injuring a jogger said his client had no recollection of the event.
On Friday the accused, Joyce Howard, 70, of Mcduffee Street, took the stand in her own defense, saying she may suffer from narcolepsy, a neurological disorder that can cause a person to unwillingly fall asleep even if they are in the middle of an activity like driving, eating, or talking, according to the National Institute of Health.
Howard said she left for work a bit earlier than usual on Oct. 11, 2021, the day of the accident, because she had to get some blood drawn at Granite State Lab on Washington Street.

Rochester Patrol Sgt. Carl Root, who in 2021 was a RPD detective, testifies about his investigation that led to the arrest of Joyce Howard.

Under questioning from defense attorney Stuart Dedopoulos, she said she remembers leaving her house and stopping at the stop sign at North Main Street, but doesn't remember turning left onto North Main Street.
The man run over and severely injured in the incident, Matt Lefebvre of Rochester, testified earlier in the trial that he was screaming as loud as he could as the 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe rolled over his body.
Howard said in court on Friday she never heard the screams.
Howard did testify, however, that at some point around the time that she stopped at the stop sign before entering North Main Street that she may have been startled somehow, but she didn't know why.

Prosecutors and the defense team make their arguments during one of many sidebars in Courtroom 1 at Strafford Superior Court on Friday.

Immediately after entering North Main Street Howard turned right onto Twombly Street and stopped a short distance from the corner, got out of her car, stood on the street a moment, got back in her car and continued on to Granite State Lab.
Howard said she may have stopped because she had woken up after falling asleep at the Mcduffee Street stop sign.
"I stopped, I woke up, on Twombly near an exit to Home Depot," she testified. "I stepped out of the car and thought, 'I'm going somewhere.'" referring to her blood draw appointment.
She said she wasn't thinking about much that morning except "getting to where I had to go."
She said she had to be at work in Somersworth by 6:30 a.m., and the lab opened at 6 a.m.
"When you got out of your car on Twombly did you turn around?" questioned Dedopoulos.
"No," replied Howard.
"Do you remember making a left turn onto North Main?
"No."
"Do you remember hearing yelling when you got out of your car on Twombly?
"No."
Do you remember hearing yelling at Mcduffee?"
"No."
Howard said she'd told her doctor about her suspicion that that she may have narcolepsy, but her doctor told her it was probably just old age.
Lefebvre, who has attended the trial with a large contingent of family, continues his recovery at home.
The incident that occurred a little before 6 a.m. left him with three spinal cord injuries, nine broken ribs, a broken sternum and clavicle, a punctured lung, nerve damage to his left side and a severe laceration that went from ear to ear on top of his head that took 25 staples to stop the bleeding.
Howard is facing up to 14 years in state prison on second degree assault and leaving the scene of an accident charges.
Howard's testimony was peppered with a half-dozen sidebars after several objections were raised over hearsay issues by Strafford County Assistant Attorney Joachim Barth.
The trial is expected to wrap up on Tuesday with cross examination of Howard by prosecutors and closing arguments.