Washington ? A man accused of causing a car wreck that killed three college students fled to Ireland only because he feared for his own safety amid the outcry over the crash, his lawyer told jurors Thursday in Kelso.

Francisco Duarte, the lead attorney for Frederick Russell, also implied in his opening remarks that a key prosecution witness may have been the one who caused the crash.

Russell, 28, is charged with three counts of vehicular homicide and three counts of vehicular assault in the 2001 crash that killed three Washington State University students and injured three others.

After his arrest and release on bail in 2001, Russell fled to Ireland, where he was found in 2005 after making the U.S. Marshals Service’s “Most Wanted” list.