The motorcyclist in front of Gary William Lindsay started moving north on Route 8 just after the light turned green when a truck came barreling down the intersecting Glade Mill Road, killing the rider, Dale T. Major, 64, of Valencia.

Lindsay recounted the events that unfolded on the afternoon of July 26, 2016, to a jury during the first day of the criminal case against the driver of that truck, Michael T. Burns of Houston, Pa.

After calling the police, Lindsay, a Butler resident, got out of his car.

“The first thing I saw was the motorcycle in two pieces,” he said on the witness stand Tuesday. “I saw the fella that had gotten hit lying motionless.”

Another witness, motorist Adam Fisher, told the jury that he went over to Major’s crumpled body to see if he had a pulse. He didn’t find one.

Burns was driving a truck with a flat bed attachment that was carrying an air compressor unit for the company employing him. When he reached the intersection of Route 8 and Glade Mill Road, he ran a red light, collided with the motorcycle and thrashed through a field off the road before coming to a stop. Major was killed in the crash.

That much is agreed upon by both sides. But where the blame lies and what Burns may or may not have done leading up to the fatal collision will be disputed by the prosecution and defense over the coming days.

The case, overseen by county Judge William Shaffer, is expected to conclude Thursday.

The state, represented by assistant district attorney Ben Simon, is prosecuting Burns, 38, for his role in the death of Major on that summer afternoon. Burns is being tried on three charges: felony homicide by vehicle, misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment.

Burns’ defense is being led by attorney Al Lindsay.

On Tuesday, the defense argued that Burns did everything he could to prevent an accident, including conducting a test of the rig’s brakes.

“The issue is, was his conduct such that you could find that it was a great departure from ordinary care and value of human life,” Lindsay said.

Lindsay argued that as Burns approached the intersection he began to hit the truck’s brake to no avail. He began to “pump” the brake repeatedly and when the light for him turned red he began to honk his “anemic” horn.

After running the light and crashing past the road, Burns got out, unaware that anyone got caught in his truck’s path, Lindsay said. But then he saw a dead man.

“He threw up and started to cry,” Lindsay said.

Neither witness — Gary Lindsay and Fisher — reported hearing a horn from the truck. The whole thing happened fast and was noiseless.

Prosecutors also called two Middlesex Township police officers to the witness stand Tuesday.

Sgt. Randy Ruediger was the first responder to the scene. He described the area as “chaotic” and said in less than an hour he was joined by another officer, Randy Davidson, who is an expert in reconstructing accidents, weighing vehicles and is also certified to inspect commercial vehicles and drives trucks.

It is on Davidson’s expertise that much of the prosecuting argument stands. He testified Tuesday that he tested the brakes of the rig after the accident and didn’t experience the same malfunction that Burns reported. Davidson also had the truck and flatbed weighed, concluding that the combined weight requires that an independent brake system in the flatbed must be used.

The prosecution argued that the flatbed’s brake wasn’t attached, and when Burns hit the brakes, the careening flatbed attachment smashed into the truck, propelling it forward and killing Major.

According to his obituary, Major was married with two children. He worked in the steel industry as a manufacturing representative and he was an antique car enthusiast. He enjoyed riding motorcycles and photography.