The 46-year-old Henan Province man went on trial Thursday in Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People's Court for killing three people in a drunken hit and run in February.

The defendant, Huang Shihua, was charged with "employing dangerous means to endanger public security." The court did not decide a verdict Thursday, but if convicted, Huang could be sentenced to more than 10 years in prison or the death penalty, the prosecutor said in court Thursday.

Huang was driving home in his black BYD sedan on February 11 when he rear-ended a taxi on the Nanliu highway in suburban Pudong New Area. He had been drinking at lunch, the prosecutor said.

The taxi driver, Shen Jianguo, 44, followed Huang to a red light, got out of his cab and started arguing with Huang. When Huang tried to speed away, Shen jumped on the car's hood. Huang then collided with another car, a yellow QQ, which exploded after impact.

Shen died in the crash. The QQ's driver, a man surnamed Min, and his passenger, a woman surnamed Tan, also died at the scene, the prosecutor said.

"I cannot remember why the taxi driver was on top of my car's hood," Huang said when questioned by the prosecutor. "I panicked and tried to stop the car. I don't know why I lost control."

The prosecutor provided evidence from police that Huang's blood-alcohol level was 2.12 milligrams per milliliter - nearly three times the legal limit - at the time of the crash.

Huang's lawyer argued in court that the deaths were accidental because his client was under the influence of alcohol. He asked the court to take Huang's cooperation and confession into consideration when deciding the sentence.

The prosecutor argued that Huang was aware of his actions at the time of the crash. She produced a statement from Huang's friend, a woman surnamed Liu, who was in the car with Huang and his son at the time.

In the statement, Liu said that she tried to persuade Huang to pull over after he hit the taxi, but Huang refused, saying he was drunk and could not stop the car.

The prosecutor said that statement showed Huang was not completely unaware of his actions at the time.

Huang admitted in court that he knew the risks of driving drunk.

"He was aware of the deadly risk, but he still drove the car. This shows that it was not a mistake caused by negligence," the prosecutor argued.

The families of the three victims altogether asked for more than 2 million yuan ($313,274) in compensation from Huang.