THUNDER BAY — The judge has dismissed a motion to direct the verdict in the case of a tractor-trailer driver accused of leaving the scene after striking and killing a pedestrian.
The trial continued every day this week for Gurmeet Brar, who pleaded not guilty to failing to remain at the scene of the accident that took the life of Kathleen Desmoulin of Long Lake #58 First Nation.
Defence lawyer Gil Labine put forward a motion for a directed verdict of aquittal on Thursday, asking the judge to find his client not guilty and end the trial early, after the Crown finished presenting all its evidence and final two witnesses.
Labine said that since this trial was before a judge and not a jury, the test (in two Supreme court cases he cited) would have to show that the Crown presented enough admissible evidence that a jury could reasonably convict the accused.
Labine said his position is — based on Brar’s statement to police, shown in court in a video recording, and the evidence that he drove his truck back along the highway following the incident to look for something that might have hit his truck — that the accused had no knowledge of hitting someone.
Labine asked Justice Robin Lepere to examine the five parts of the indictment to accept his motion.
These five parts of the charge against Brar that the Crown had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt were as follows:
First, that Brar was operating a conveyance.
Second, whether Brar knew or was reckless to the fact that his conveyance (tractor-trailer) was involved in hitting a pedestrian.
Third, whether Brar failed to stop at the scene of the incident.
Fourth, whether Brar failed to communicate the fact that he had been involved in an accident or to leave his address and to offer assistance.
And fifth, whether Brar was reckless or knowledgeable to the fact that the accident caused bodily harm.
The Crown confirmed agreement with the test of the motion and stood firm on evidence presented in court that proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Brar failed to stop, failed to give his address and failed to offer assistance.
The court heard testimony from collision reconstructionist Rheal Roberts and from a citizen witness who was a resident of Geraldton at the time of the incident.
Roberts described the scuff marks and damage on Brar’s Freightliner Cascadia, which was examined by police after obtaining a warrant to search it, and matched these damages to injuries on the body of the deceased.
Roberts said that based on where the body was found, on the north side of Hwy. 11 more than 31 metres from the stop sign on Beaver St. in Long Lake 58, he could not conclude whether Desmoulin had been walking on the shoulder of the highway or in the westbound lane.
The civilian witness said he saw a small person walking a few feet from the edge of the road in the westbound lane at the approximate time and location of the incident in the evening of Nov. 17, 2023. He said he was driving east on Hwy. 11 and saw the oncoming traffic and the person walking on the road.
He said he moved onto the shoulder to give the oncoming traffic more space to get around the pedestrian. He testified that he did not see any brake lights in his rearview mirror after he passed the pedestrian walking on the highway.
In her decision on Friday to dismiss Labine’s motion, Justice Lepere said the evidence from the GPS data and the video surveillance cameras described in both Roberts’ and Mertens’ evidence show that Brar slowed down in the area where the incident took place, but didn’t stop.
Lepere said it was relevant, as seen in the video of Brar’s nearly four-hour statement to police after his arrest, that Brar said he felt unsafe in that area of the highway and that he had warned other truck drivers that he felt like someone had hit him. However, he did not inform police of any incident.
Lepere also said that the evidence showed that Brar was originally untruthful to his employer about the cause of the damage to his truck. Brar’s employer, Lepere reminded the court, told police that Brar said another truck had hit him at a truck stop.
In conclusion, Lepere said, she found enough evidence presented by the Crown that a jury could conclude guilt in this case.
Following her dismissal of the motion, Labine said he would like to prepare his client to take the stand, which will require a different translator than the two who worked throughout this trial thus far.
A date will be chosen to continue the trial.
None of the allegations against the accused have been proven in court.
