In December 2013, a driver fleeing Kelowna RCMP in a high-speed chase slammed into a newspaper carrier doing his route. Steve Kania suffered permanent, life-altering brain damage and other injuries.
Shortly afterwards, Nathan Fahl was charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm and several other offenses.
And shortly after that, a person who was in the car did an interview with Global Okanagan News and wrote letters to RCMP in which Donald Brodie claimed numerous times the wrong guy had been charged.
“Nathan Fahl was not driving the vehicle. I tell you 100 per cent, on my family’s life, he was not driving the vehicle,” said Brodie in his Global interview.
Brodie, referring to himself in the third person, said he was actually behind the wheel.
“He’s going to come forward and tell his story but it’s not easy, a scary thing happened, he’s looking at doing some time.”
In his letters, Brodie challenged police to charge him instead of Fahl and that’s what happened.
The charges against Fahl were dropped and Brodie is now on trial.
On the witness stand Monday, Brodie explained why he says he falsely confessed to being the driver.
“My whole goal in doing that was to help my friend (Nathan Fahl) get out of jail,” Brodie told the judge. “That was my sole purpose. I tried relentlessly to get it to happen.”
In cross-examination, the prosecutor pointed to leg injuries Brodie suffered in the crash as evidence he is the real driver.
“I suggest the reason you injured your shin was your shin either hit the gas pedal, clutch or brake,” said Crown Counsel David Grabavac. “Isn’t that right sir?”
Brodie replied: “That’s not true at all. I got injured from being thrown around.”
The lawyers give their closing submissions Wednesday with the judge expected to deliver her verdict by the end of the week.
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