Eyewitnesses testify in careless driving trial

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on August 31, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

The five-day trial for a case involving a young Lethbridge boy killed after he was struck by a vehicle more than two years ago, continued Tuesday in Lethbridge provincial court.

One Lethbridge Police Service officer and three civilian witnesses took the stand Tuesday during the second day of the trial.

Neil Martin Skjodt, 55, was charged after the 10-year-old boy, Charles McIntyre, was struck and killed by a motor vehicle April 13, 2020. An SUV turning right onto Whoop-Up Drive near Aquitania Boulevard struck two young boys crossing in the crosswalk with their father. The older boy died in the hospital.

Skjodt pleaded not guilty several months later to a single charge of careless driving under the Traffic Safety Act. He was charged under the Act rather than the Criminal Code after investigating officers determined the incident was not a criminal offence. The charge allows for a maximum fine of $2,000 or six months in jail, or both, and possibly licence suspension.

On Tuesday during the trial, the Crown’s first witness was Lethbridge Police Service Cst. Rob Bittman, who took photographs of the scene the day of the incident and testified about it.

After being questioned about the sequence of events on how he took the photographs and why he took the photographs he did, he was cross-examined by the defence, Lethbridge lawyer Greg White.

White asked him if he was told by anyone what to photograph, and Cst. Bittman responded no. He said he photographed what he thought would be relevant to the investigation.

The Crown then proceeded to ask Emma Bauer to take the stand, and she testified on what she witnessed as a passenger of her own vehicle, a yellow Fiat, while her father Robert Bauer was driving it, who later testified to the same.

Emma Bauer said she did not see the impact, but her father yelled saying he (the driver of the SUV) was going to hit the boys. At that point she said her father stopped the car and they both got out of the vehicle.

She testified she stayed with the driver to make sure he would not leave. She said he was out of the vehicle at that point and therefore she was able to get a good look at him.

The Crown asked Emma Bauer if she has seen the driver after the incident and she said no. She was asked to look around the court room and to tell the Crown if she saw the driver in the courtroom. She proceeded to identify the accused as the driver of the SUV.

After being questioned by the Crown, Emma Bauer was cross-examined by White, who asked her if she testified about the SUV stopping before entering the crosswalk, after a police officer had mentioned it. Emma Bauer disagreed with his suggestion and became emotional while recounting her statement.

Robert Bauer then took the stand in the afternoon and testified to what he witnessed, adding the fact that he asked the father of the boy who was struck by the SUV to jump in the car so he could take them to the hospital.

He said he noticed the boy was unresponsive and the dad was yelling his name trying to see if he was responsive. He asked him to get in the car with his son and drove away thinking about taking him straight to the hospital but then realized there was a firehall close by and took them there instead.

He testified that after dropping them off at the fire station he returned to the area where the incident took place to check on his daughter Emma and provide his statement to a police officer.

Robert Bauer was cross-examined by White before the last witness of the day was called to the stand.

The Crown called Kimberlee Hachkowski, who testified about what she witnessed while driving her vehicle towards the entrance of the parking lot of the No-Frills grocery store.

She described the incident and said she had an unrestricted view of it as she was turning at that point and saw the incident unfold through the front windshield of her vehicle.

Hachkowski said she was driving behind the yellow car that stopped two cars’ length in front of her before the occupants got out.

She said she saw the father of the boy who was struck by the SUV pick him up and take him to the sidewalk. Hachkowski confirmed she saw the driver of the yellow car ask the father of the boy to get in the yellow car and saw them drive away.

The Crown asked her if she had seen the driver of the SUV after the incident, to which she responded no. She was asked to look around the court room and to tell the Crown if she saw the driver in the courtroom. She proceeded to identify the accused as the driver of the SUV.

Hachkowski was cross-examined by White, who at that point mentioned the fact that she kept referring to the boy by his name, and she had mentioned earlier that she attended his memorial.

White asked her if at the memorial she talked to any of the McIntyre family members, or any other witnesses, and if she knew either the family or the other witnesses, to which Hachkowski answered no to all.

Today, the Crown is expected to question the medical examiner prior to continuing questioning the remaining witnesses, ten Lethbridge Police officers.

The Crown is hoping to wrap up their portion of the trial by Thursday at noon.

– with files from Delon Shurtz

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