It was described as “a heart-breaking case,” but there wasn’t evidence to indict a truck driver for aggravated DUI in a wreck nearly two years ago that took the life of a Florence teen, Assistant District Attorney Dewey Arthur said.

Killed May 31, 2006, when her car was side-slammed by an 18-wheeler on U.S. 61 North and Bowie Road was Savanah Mignon Belgard, 19, a sophomore nursing student at Hinds Community College in Raymond.

Evidence showed she was entering the highway at 8:19 p.m. when the Chrysler Cirrus she was driving was struck by the northbound semi at the light-controlled “T” intersection. Belgard was pronounced dead at River Region Medical Center, less than a mile from the scene.

The driver of the rig was Robert E. Brown Jr., then 54, who told troopers at the scene that he tried to avoid Belgard’s vehicle by veering left, but the car “kept coming.”

Following the fatal wreck, toxicology tests revealed that Brown had traces of amphetamine in his blood. However, Arthur said, the amount was too small for crime lab experts to determine whether the amphetamine was legal or illegal and whether it impaired his driving. Tests showed about 50 nanograms per milliliter of amphetamine was present in Brown’s system at the time, which is “far below” the threshold of impairment, Arthur said.

“It could have been diet drugs, cough suppressant…,” he noted.

Also, the Mississippi Highway Patrol investigated the wreck, could not determine who was at fault and could not find any witnesses. The MHP did not charge Brown with any offense.

At the request of the victim’s family, the 9th Circuit District Attorney’s Office presented the case to the May term of the Warren County Grand Jury.

But like law enforcement, jurors found no evidence for a criminal charge.

“In an aggravated DUI case we have to prove that the driver was intoxicated, that his driving was impaired, and that he was driving negligently,” Arthur said. “And we couldn’t prove any of the three.”

“It’s a heart-breaking case, and my heart goes out to the family,” Arthur continued. “But they (grand jurors) saw every piece of relevant evidence we had, and couldn’t find reason to indict him.”

Before the wreck, Belgard had been visiting a friend in Openwood Plantation subdivision. Belgard’s vehicle was pushed approximately 80 yards north on the highway.