Careless driving verdict postponed to next month

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on September 16, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A Lethbridge man likely won’t know until next month whether he is guilty of careless driving stemming from an incident that claimed the life of a young boy more than two years ago.

Judge Timothy Hironaka reserved his decision following the trial of 55-year-old Neil Martin Skjodt earlier this month, but when the matter returned to Lethbridge provincial court Thursday, a date to hear the judge’s decision was set for Oct. 12.

Skjodt, 55, was charged after 10-year-old 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 walking 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.

On the last day of trial Sept. 2, Skjodt said he was not aware of the crosswalk and did not see the six-foot-tall father and his children, one of whom was carrying a bright orange stick, as they crossed the street.

During his closing arguments, Lethbridge lawyer Greg White said the Crown’s evidence was unreliable, and suggested Crown witnesses were biased because they were obviously emotional. White also said the father’s failure to make eye contact with the driver contributed to the accident.

The Crown argued the boys and their father were clearly visible and would have been seen at the intersection by a driver exercising ordinary and reasonable care. The Crown also refuted the defence argument that the windshield pillars may have created blind spots, and said it was still the driver’s responsibility to ensure there weren’t any obstructions before proceeding through the intersection.

The Crown reminded the judge of the testimony of several witnesses who said the father and his sons stopped on the sidewalk before entering the crosswalk, and only began crossing the street after the SUV stopped before the crosswalk.

–with files from Alejandra Pulido-Guzman

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