Bombing witness recalls 'horrific explosion'

May 14, 1997
Web posted at: 10:59 p.m. EDT (0259 GMT)

Latest developments:

'I saw this humongous object coming at us'
'Ryder' legible in surveillance pictures
Tons of debris, and bent truck parts

DENVER (CNN) -- Truck debris and surveillance camera images were shown to the jury Wednesday in the Oklahoma City bombing trial of Timothy McVeigh, as a man testified tearfully about how he and his family narrowly escaped injury from the blast.

Richard Nichols, a maintenance worker at an apartment building a block from the federal building, took the stand to tell of working on the morning of April 19, 1995, and of his wife and 10-year-old nephew arriving to pick him up at the apartment building.

The surveillance images, taken by a camera in the apartment building lobby, show the family's car in the foreground as a Ryder truck passed by. Nichols' wife is seen in the pictures coming into the apartment building, and he is seen stepping out of the elevator.

He said they were headed for the car, where the nephew was waiting, when the blast struck.

"There was an horrific explosion. We felt ... heat and pressure, it kind of spun us around a bit," Nichols said. "I thought the boilers in our building had blowed up."

'I saw this humongous object coming at us'

Moments later, he said, a truck axle came flying through the air, smashing into his car as he and his wife were strapping the 10-year-old boy into the back seat.

"I heard something coming from the left of me and I saw this humongous object coming at us through the air. You could see it."

Their close call with the 7-foot-long, 250-pound piece of jagged metal left Nichols shaken. He was overcome with emotion as he told the jury that he and his family could have been driving by the Murrah building when the bomb went off, if they had not been running late.

As he testified, one of the jurors buried her face in her hands for several minutes. McVeigh leaned forward with a glum expression.

A vehicle number taken from the mangled axle was used to trace it to a Ryder truck that a witness has said he rented to McVeigh two days before the bombing.

'Ryder' legible in pictures

The black-and-white pictures also showed what prosecutors contend is the explosives-packed Ryder truck that blew up the Alfred P. Murrah federal building that morning, killing 168 people and injuring hundreds.

The name "Ryder" is clearly visible. The images show the truck making its way toward the federal building minutes before the explosion. Glare blocks the view of the cab and driver.

The truck sat still for 21 seconds, moved forward a couple of feet, paused three more seconds and then pulled away at what is timed by the camera at 8:57:18 a.m. The blast struck at 9:02 a.m. The clock was said to be one to two minutes slow.

Tons of debris, and bent truck parts

The prosecution also worked its way through a list of some two dozen witnesses who testified about evidence from the scene and about the federal workers killed.

FBI agents and other investigators identified pieces of plastic and metal recovered in a 1 1/2 square-mile search around the federal building.

They described sifting through 1,035 tons of debris to collect more than 7 tons of evidence, including a bent truck frame, a tire rim, and a gear believed to be from the Ryder truck. Witnesses also identified transmission pieces, a crank shaft, a shock absorber and a Ford emblem.

The government also began the process of calling witnesses to testify that the eight federal law-enforcement officers killed in the blast were "engaging in the official performance" of their duties.

The jury heard about a Drug Enforcement Administration agent and four Secret Service agents killed. Proving the deaths is a technical finding that allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

Prosecutors also called several FBI agents who walked and drove the routes McVeigh was believed to have used in the days prior to the bombing. Their testimony was meant to substantiate the government's timeline.

The day started with the continued cross-examination of locksmith Charles Edwards, who acknowledged that a key found in an alley near the federal building could possibly fit at least 25 Ford vehicles like the Ryder truck.

The key was introduced into evidence Tuesday. Prosecutors contend McVeigh dropped it as he was getting into his getaway car.

McVeigh, 29, and his accused co-conspirator Terry Nichols are charged with murder and conspiracy in the bombing. Nichols will be tried later.

Correspondent Tony Clark contributed to this report.

T R A N S C R I P T S / O V E R V I E W / T H E P L A Y E R S
T H E B O M B I N G / C N N S T O R I E S / L I N K S

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