Iovani Alatini said he would never say or do anything to hurt his wife because “;she's my angel.”;

Alatini, 33, is on trial in Circuit Court for second-degree assault for allegedly causing a vehicle crash on the H-1 freeway viaduct July 18, 2007, that severed his wife's left arm.

He took the witness stand in his own defense yesterday.

Alatini said he and his wife, Lise Solomua-Alatini, 30, were arguing as she drove their sport utility vehicle home from a picnic at Magic Island. He said his wife was driving recklessly by speeding and “;bobbing and weaving in and out of lanes.”;

He said he asked her to slow down, but she ignored him and sped up. He said he then pounded on the dashboard and yelled at her to either slow down or stop to let him out. But he said she told him to shut up and that they were going home.

Fearing for their safety, he said, he decided to kick the in-dash DVD player to get his wife's attention, “;because I know she cherishes that DVD player.”;

When he kicked the DVD player, Alatini said, his foot slipped and hit his wife's hand. That caused her to momentarily lose control of the SUV. And when she did regain control, he said, his wife turned to him and swore as she asked him why he kicked the steering wheel, and started hitting him.

Alatini said he then saw them approaching the concrete median and told his wife to look out. He said she hit the brakes and turned the wheel before they crashed.

The defense completed presenting its case to the jury yesterday. The jurors started deliberating in the afternoon.