Judge reserves decision as careless driving trial concludes

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on September 3, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

The trial of a 55-year-old Lethbridge man accused of careless driving from an incident that took place over two years ago, concluded Friday in Lethbridge provincial court.

Neil Martin Skjodt, 55, was charged after 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 of the two boys 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 possible licence suspension.

Day five of the trial saw Skjodt take the stand to be cross-examined by the Crown in the morning, before the defence presented their closing arguments. The Crown presented their closing arguments in the afternoon.

During cross examination the Crown asked Skjodt for clarification of his testimony about not being aware of the west sidewalk or seeing any pedestrians on it by asking “You did not see a fully grown adult male, six feet tall with two boys approximately the same size, 54 inches tall, carrying a bright orange stick?”

“Correct” said Skjodt.

Judge Timothy Hironaka questioned Skjodt about the location where he said he stopped 50 to 100 meters away from the crosswalk, and to clarify that it was at that point where he did not observe any pedestrians coming from the west or from the east, to which Skjodt said he was correct.

Before the defence finished their portion of the trial, Lethbridge lawyer Greg White invited the court to go to the scene of the incident, which Judge Hironaka declined after a brief recess to consider it.

In closing arguments, White focused on what he called the unreliability of the evidence presented by the Crown.

He argued that photographic evidence was focused on the west side of the incident but there was no pictures of the east side, which is the direction where the driver was looking in.

White also refuted the reliability of the evidence gathered by Const. Paxman and his conclusion of the area of impact and resting point, as Paxman earlier testified there was blood on the crosswalk, with White referencing police evidence photos that did not appear to show any blood at that spot.

He also questioned the bias of the witnesses who testified – as they showed emotion – versus the unbiased evidence presented in the surveillance video from Original Joe’s, a restaurant adjacent to the scene.

Referencing the video, White argued that it was not possible the incident was over in a matter of three seconds.

In closing, White argued that Lee McIntyre did not make eye contact with the driver and that contributed to the incident.

When presented their closing arguments, the Crown first focused on the video, where Charles’ younger brother Simon is seen running and argued that he was a tall boy, and the clothing he was wearing was very visible.

The Crown argued that in his testimony Lee McIntyre gave information about his height and the height of the boys, and how what Charles was wearing was visible in a sunny day.

Using the reconstruction video, the Crown noted the amount of pedestrian traffic in the area, arguing a driver exercising ordinary and reasonable care would expect to be able to see at that intersection.

The Crown focused on the defence argument on the size of the windshield pillars, if they were in fact big enough to create blind spots, it was still the responsibility of the driver to make sure there was no obstructions before moving the vehicle forward.

The Crown also argued that in the amount of time the vehicle was stopped at the crosswalk the driver had enough time to look for pedestrians by moving his head.

The Crown asked the court to consider similarity of multiple witnesses testimony recalling the incident, saying that testimony indicated McIntyre and his two boys stopped at the sidewalk before entering the crosswalk, the SUV stopping before the crosswalk, and at that point the pedestrians entering the crosswalk.

The Crown presented multiple similar court cases and read their outcomes to aid their position.

After both sides presented their closing arguments Judge Hironaka thanked both council for their efficiency and competent presentations.

Hironaka reserved his decision and asked for the matter to be adjourned to Sept. 15 for fixation. At that point he will let the interested parties know if he is ready for a decision or if he needs more time.

-with files from Delon Shurtz.

Follow @APulidoHerald on Twitter