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WEST JORDAN - After Elizabeth Deseelhorst struck and killed a bicyclist in Big Cottonwood Canyon last year, she provided a scenario that police knew was false, according to testimony Tuesday on the first day of the woman's negligent homicide trial.

The defense, meanwhile, told a 3rd District Court jury that a neurologist will testify today that the 67-year-old woman has serious health problems. The doctor is expected to say that Deseelhorst suffered a mini-stroke prior to her collision with 25-year-old cyclist Josie Johnson on Sept. 18, 2004.

Johnson's death sparked a public outcry from the cycling community, which contends motorists have become increasingly inconsiderate and inattentive to bicyclists.

Defense attorney Rebecca Hyde says no crime could have occurred if Deseelhorst had been in the throes of a medical emergency.

Prosecutor Chris Bown will counter the medical testimony with a man who talked with Deseelhorst immediately after the crash, a conversation that Bown says shows she was well aware of what was happening.

Deseelhorst apparently answered several questions from the man, then abruptly said, "I don't think I should be talking to you," according to prosecutors.

Salt Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Randy Thomas testified Tuesday that Johnson was riding her bike up the canyon just left of the right-hand fog line when Deseelhorst's Jeep struck the cyclist from behind about 4:15 p.m.

Gouge marks in the asphalt from the bicycle frame and damage to the Jeep show the vehicle was straddling the fog line, and the Jeep's passenger-side wheels were in the gravel at the road's shoulder, Thomas said.

The Jeep ran over the bike, while Johnson was "ramped up" onto the hood and struck the windshield before falling to the pavement, Thomas said. Johnson was dead at the scene from head injuries.

Thomas said the weather was clear, with a slight breeze. The collision occurred 14 miles up the canyon on a gently curving section of road.

In Deseelhorst's written statement, she claimed she saw the cyclist riding in the right-hand lane 150 feet ahead of her, so she steered her car into the left-hand passing lane to avoid a collision.

Deseelhorst claimed the cyclist suddenly swerved directly into her path, according to her statement. She added: "It was a very windy day."

Hyde said the statement was written by a woman who had no idea what had happened.

A month later, Deseelhorst went "looking for answers" and underwent a full neurological work-up, said Hyde, who noted Deseelhorst suffered a stroke in 1991 and an epileptic event in 1994.

"She has had no major events since 1994," Hyde said. "But she is a little more forgetful, and she sometimes forgets where she puts her car."

A toxicology report indicated Deseelhorst was not impaired by drugs or alcohol. Deseelhorst also was not speeding or talking on a cell phone, according to Hyde.

Deseelhorst's trial is expected to end today. If convicted of the class A misdemeanor charge, she faces up to a year in jail.