Jury deliberations have begun in the murder trial of Dylan Simmons, who claimed he acted in self-defense when he struck Darisha Bailey Vath, 17, with his car in Forest Lake after a fight between two groups of people who knew each other.

Jurors received the case Tuesday shortly after 12:30 p.m., following closing arguments in the morning in Washington County District Court in Stillwater. Deliberations resumed after lunchtime. The trial began on December 11.

Simmons, 21, of North Branch, is accused of intentionally hitting and killing Vath, of Stacy, Minnesota, with his car around 1:20 a.m. on July 16, 2023, in Lakeside Memorial Park in downtown Forest Lake.

He faces six criminal charges in connection with Vath’s death: second-degree intentional murder, second-degree unintentional murder, vehicular criminal homicide and three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon.

Before closing arguments, Washington County District Court Judge Siv Mjanger granted the defense’s request for the jury to also consider first-degree manslaughter. The prosecution opposed this request.

To make their case during the trial, which began Dec. 9, prosecutors and defense attorneys relied on four videos showing the fight and Vath’s death.

“Video shows you that there is no attack when he starts his vehicle and he chooses to start driving it at people,” Assistant Washington County Prosecutor Kayla Wengronowitz said. adding that Simmons could have left.

Simmons’ attorney, Travis Kowitz, told jurors during closing arguments that the Lakeside Park video did not show the real story: that people were surrounding Simmons’ car and hitting her.

The hit-and-run allegedly occurred after a fight involving two groups of people who knew each other. “Participants from both sides were yelling at each other and several participants armed themselves with weapons such as a baseball bat, hammers, a crowbar, and a folding knife,” the criminal complaint states.

After the conflict de-escalated, Simmons and Anderson got into a white Mazda 3 sedan.

Simmons wanted revenge and was not going to leave Forest Lake Park humiliated and embarrassed as a member of the group that lost a fight, Wengronowitz told jurors Wednesday during closing arguments.

Instead, while his passenger, Ryan Anderson, was recording on his cellphone, Simmons intentionally drove his Mazda sedan into a group of people who were doing nothing to them, Wengronowitz said in closing arguments.

“Nothing. They were standing by their cars. They were walking away. They were getting ready to leave.

But that wasn’t enough, Wengronowitz said. Simmons made a second pass around the parking lot, then drove her Mazda “violently into another group of people and knocked them out of the way,” she said.

Simmons reversed his car and accelerated forward “literally burning rubber, as he told Detective (Luke) Hanegraaff, he pointed it at Darisha and mowed her down, then fled the scene.” , she said.

Vath, who would have graduated from high school next spring and dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, died instantly.