The trial of Michael Laurence Campbell began Monday after the original jury trial date in January was postponed until March 5.

Campbell, 21, was charged with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide after the September car crash that resulted in the death of St. Thomas junior Ria Patel, 20.

Monday’s proceedings included Judge Fred Kosovo setting Campbell’s bail to stay at $250,000 as it was previously. Friends and family of Patel were in attendance at the trial.

According to law clerk Greg Schafer, opening statements were made Tuesday morning, and the prosecution began calling witnesses that afternoon. Schafer expected the prosecution to continue calling witnesses through Friday.

The trial is expected to run until March 13, beginning at 9 a.m. daily at the Hennepin County Courthouse.

The criminal complaint from September said Campbell hit a traffic light around 3:40 a.m. Sept. 17 at the intersection of Stinson Boulevard Northeast and Ridgeway Parkway. Multiple witnesses saw Campbell flee the scene on foot.

K-9 units searched the area for Campbell but could not find him. Police found Campbell’s driver’s license at the scene and responded to his listed address. Those present in the home confirmed that Campbell lived there but were unaware that he and Patel had left the house. One person said Campbell had been “super drunk,” according to the criminal complaint.

“He does not believe he was intoxicated at the time he left the house,” Douglas Myren told the judge in a court hearing last September. Myren was Campbell’s court-appointed attorney at the time, but public defender Nancy Laskaris now represents Campbell. According to the criminal complaint, Campbell told authorities that he had consumed alcohol before driving the vehicle.

The complaint said Campbell had several prior driving convictions for serious speed, failure to stop at a stop sign, careless driving, and a January 2017, hit-and-run, for which he was serving probation.

Solveig Rennan can be reached at renn6664@stthomas.edu.

Mary Brickner and Sophie Carson contributed to this report.