BRYAN, Texas—A witness at the trial of a black man accused in the abduction and murders of five people from an East Texas Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant 25 years ago testified Monday that he saw a white man speeding away the night of the abductions.

James Rowe, testifying as defense attorneys began their case in the trial of Darnell Hartsfield, said the van was carrying at least three people wearing KFC uniforms. Rowe said he clearly saw the driver because the van and his station wagon nearly collided as it sped out of the restaurant lot in Kilgore.

“My bumper almost hit his door,” Rowe said. “His window was down. He looked at me, I looked at him, for about two seconds.”

Rowe was among a handful of witnesses to testify on behalf of Hartsfield, whose lawyers rested their case Monday after just one day. State District Judge Clay Gossett, who moved the trial from Henderson to Bryan because of publicity about the long-unresolved case, told jurors closing arguments would be today. Then they could begin deliberations.

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