Trial dates set for driver in pedestrian fatality case

By Tim Kalinowski on September 1, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com

Trial dates have finally been set in a 14-month-old careless driving case involving the death of a young boy.
The trial of Neil Martin Skjodt of Lethbridge will be held over three days from March 28 until April 1 next year. Judge Sylvia Oishi set the trial dates in Lethbridge provincial court on Tuesday after being advised by Crown Prosecutor Bruce Ainscough and defence lawyer Greg White that both sides were ready to proceed.
Ainscough had been pressing to set a trial date for several months, telling the court back in June the Crown was “anxious to proceed.” However, White told the court at that time he was still waiting for his expert to provide a traffic reconstruction report, which he requested in response to a report prepared by the Crown’s expert.
The accused, Skjodt, was charged after the 10-year-old boy was struck and killed by a motor vehicle April 13 of last year. A large SUV turning right onto Whoop-Up Drive near Aquitania Boulevard struck two young boys crossing in the crosswalk with their father. The 10-year-old boy died in the hospital.
Skjodt pleaded not guilty several months later to a single charge of careless driving under the Traffic Safety Act, and his lawyer said a trial would likely be necessary to deal with specific issues.
Skjodt, 52, was charged under the Traffic Safety Act rather than under the Criminal Code after investigating officers determined there was no criminality involved in the incident. The charge allows for a maximum fine of $2,000 or six months in jail, or both, and possibly licence suspension.
-With files from Delon Shurtz

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