SOMERVILLE, N.J. (AP) A limousine driver attempted to protect himself before he was shot to death in the mansion of Jayson Williams, a medical examiner testified Thursday at the former NBA star's manslaughter trial.

``He was in a defensive mode when the trajectory hit him,'' Dr. Steven M. Diamond told jurors.

The former New Jersey Nets center is on trial for aggravated manslaughter. He is also charged with trying to make the Feb. 14, 2002, shooting death of Costas ``Gus'' Christofi resemble a suicide and persuading witnesses to lie to police.

Williams' defense maintains the shotgun went off accidentally as he handled it while giving friends and Christofi a tour of his 40-room home in rural western New Jersey.

Christofi bled to death within minutes from the single shotgun blast that sent 12 pellets from the 12-gauge cartridge into his heart, lungs, stomach, liver and pancreas, said Diamond.

Diamond said the size of the wound on Christofi's right side led him to conclude that Christofi was killed by another person: ``There was a wide swath of damage,'' he said.

Also Thursday, Williams' attorney, Michael T. Kelly, suggested that a crime scene investigator made mistakes while examining the crime scene.

Responding to Kelly's questions, state police detective Sgt. James Molinaro acknowledged he did not examine the gloves of a trooper who first handled the shotgun that killed limousine driver Costas ``Gus'' Christofi.

``It never occurred to me,'' he said.

Williams, 35, faces eight charges, including aggravated manslaughter and witness tampering, that could carry up to 55 years in prison. The least of the charges carries a penalty of up to 18 months in prison but would likely result in probation.

Williams retired from the Nets in 2000 after a decade in the NBA. He was suspended from his job as an NBA analyst for NBC after the shooting.