DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — It was the defense’s turn to call its witness on the third day of the Abby Michaels trial as they focused on her mental state on the night of St. Patrick’s Day 2019. They also shared what might have caused her to go the wrong way on I-75.

Wednesday afternoon at the Montgomery County Courthouse, the prosecutor and defense did a deep dive in Michaels’ repeated trauma in her childhood and how it might have played a role in the crash.

The defense called Dr. Christina Waite, the director of psychiatry at Miami Valley Hospital, to the stand. She treated Michaels one week after the crash, and said that in her opinion Michaels likely suffered a psychogenetic seizure right before the crash.

According to Dr. Waite, repeated childhood trauma resulted in conditions that could cause seizures or misassociation while under stress, such as dealing with Michaels’ divorce.

Dr. Waite also said Michaels suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder, which can often result in psychotic breaks and loss of control.

“The thinking part of the brain basically gets overwhelmed and checks out,” Dr. Waite said.

Dr. Waite said Michaels was unaware and displayed poor insight for many weeks after the crash. When she began to become more aware, Michaels and her family told Waite that causing harm like the collision was not in her nature.

The prosecution presented evidence that Michaels had not had a documented seizure from 2016 up to March 2019. Dr. Waite pointed out that this does not mean she did not have one, only that she did not seek medical care.

Michaels has pleaded not guilty to six counts of murder and three counts of aggravated vehicular homicide in a St. Patrick’s Day 2019 head-on collision that killed a mother and father and their 10-year-old daughter.