ELMIRA, N.Y. (WENY) -- Thursday afternoon marked day three of the trial for the woman accused of hitting and critically injuring Chemung County Sheriff's Office Investigator Michael Theetge with a car last March. In what prosecutors call a rare move, the defendant took the stand.

The defendant, Fatiuna Massaline testified about what she says happened on March 29, 2024, at the Big Flats Target.

Massaline testified that she and her ex-boyfriend, Dominick Haley, were at the Big Flats Target to pick up engine oil for her Cadillac that had broken down. That night, she had borrowed a family member's car, a black Chevrolet Impala.

She says she was parked in the car waiting for Haley, who was the only one who went inside Target. She adds that Lester Freeney, a man who she says is like a father figure to her, was in the back seat of the car. Eventually, Massaline saw Haley leaving the store which prompted her to pull the car around to pick him up.

When Massaline pulled out of the parking spot, she claimed another vehicle boxed her in, causing her to panic. She says this is because it was reminiscent of a time when she almost got kidnapped around two or three years prior. This, she says, caused her to have a panic attack and begin rushing to pick up Haley and leave.

Haley, who Massaline says had a past with shoplifting, began running around the time she rounded the corner of the parking lot to drive toward the store entrance. When she saw him running and eventually being chased, she says wanted no part of it. From there, she shared that she was going to leave him there and said she had no idea the men chasing him were officers, as they were in plain clothes and she saw no marked vehicles.

"They weren't in any marked vehicles, and I didn't see any uniform to identify them as one," Massaline testified when asked if she knew who was chasing Haley. She said she thought it could be a Target employee, or random people chasing him in the parking lot. 

When asked by the defense attorney if she would have stopped if she had known it was police, Massaline said yes. 

Surveillance video from Target was shown to the jury, where the car Massaline was driving pulling out of a parking space, and being blocked by an unmarked police car, and her driving around the car to get away. The plainclothes officer gets out of that vehicle and begins chasing after the black Impala, while another silver unmarked car comes into the frame and begins following Massaline's car through the parking lot. Massaline is then seen driving through parking spots to evade the vehicles, and Haley, followed by a plainclothes Inv. Theetge, is seen running into the frame towards the car, which is still in motion. The car then stops, at which time Haley and Inv. Theetge jump onto the hood, before the car accelerates forward. Both men fall from the vehicle. Haley gets up and runs, before being caught almost immediately by other officers, while Theetge can be seen lying on the ground. The Impala can be seen then driving towards the backside of the Target store to get away. 

Massaline testified to the panic and chaos she felt at that moment when she said she made her way through the parking lot to attempt to find an exit. Massaline claims she did not realize that she had hit and injured Theetge at the time.

In her attempts to leave Haley behind, Massaline says she just wanted to go home to Ithaca and her son; however, Freeney, who was in the backseat, instructed her on what steps to take next. She says he told her to park the car and leave due to her "chaotic state."

After exiting the Target parking lot utilizing the back road behind the store, Massaline said drove to a nearby car dealership, abandoned the car, and ran to Lowe's to hide. She then shared that she had hidden under a Lowe's tractor-trailer, where she heard and saw sirens and emergency vehicles heading back toward Target, before getting an Uber/Lyft to the nearby Walmart.

During this time, she says Freeney instructed her to change her appearance. Following his orders, she said she took off her wig, went into the Walmart, purchased a coat, and then took an Uber/Lyft back home to Ithaca. 

Once she had arrived back in the city, she had been informed of the extent of the incident. Her mother then obtained legal representation for her before Massaline turned herself in on Saturday, March 30.

One more witness for the defense is set to testify on Friday at 9:00 A.M. before closing arguments. After that, jury deliberation will begin.

WENY News will continue to provide updates on whether or not a verdict is to come soon and what that decision will be.