A five-day trial got underway Monday morning for a 60-year-old man charged in a deadly hit and run in May 2015.
David Gershon Bookhalter is charged with failing to stop at the scene of an accident knowing death was caused in connection with the crash in south Edmonton on May 11, 2015.
The crash happened on the 122 Street overpass at Whitemud Drive shortly after 8 p.m. A woman was killed when a left-turning vehicle hit the motorcycle she was on. The man driving the motorcycle was seriously injured.
READ MORE: Driver charged in fatal hit-and-run crash involving motorcycle
In court on Monday morning, the driver of the motorcycle — Michael Liu — was the first person to testify.
Liu told court he and his girlfriend of one-and-a-half years, 26-year-old Christina Shi Jim Goh, were out for an evening ride on the motorcycle, driving a route they had taken many times.
Liu said it was a clear evening and they were in no rush to get home. He told court the last thing he remembers was hitting the brakes and flying over the handlebars of the motorcycle.
Liu recalled lying on the ground with an elderly lady over him telling him not to move.
“My first question was, ‘Where’s my girlfriend? She didn’t answer that question,'” Liu said.
He said it wasn’t until he was in the ambulance that he heard his girlfriend was dead.
“My whole body felt like it was in shock.”
Liu said he spent about three weeks in hospital followed by about a month at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital. He said he suffered many injuries, including a broken femur, broken left collarbone, beck fractures, lower-spine fractures and a concussion.
In opening statements, the Crown said the accused turned left on a green light, causing the collision. The Crown said two witnesses followed the driver of the car onto the Whitemud and to his home where the vehicle pulled into the garage. Police arrived at the man’s house soon after.
Liu told court Monday it took him about a year to get back to work as a realtor and he still feels pain today.
With files from Kendra Slugoski, Global News.
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