Eyewitness testifies at trial of man accused of deliberately hitting a Vernon pedestrian

The trial of a man who allegedly ran down a Vernon pedestrian only to be stabbed himself heard eyewitness testimony on Wednesday.

However, questions were raised in court about the witness’ credibility.

Witness Ryan Burchnall was walking with two friends on 27th Avenue in Vernon in February 2016 when the incident unfolded.

“These little kids sort of came from across the street, passing us across the street and they said, ‘What’s up?’ and we didn’t know what it was about. A few moments later, they came at us with a car and said the same thing, ‘What’s up?’ They backed up and tried to run over us,” said Burchnall, in an interview outside the courthouse.

Crown counsel is arguing that Abd’L-Malik Loubissi-Morris, who was 18 at the time, deliberately used a vehicle as a weapon and took aim at the three pedestrians, hitting and pinning Lisa David.

“I still remember her screaming for her life,” recalled Burchnall.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I still remember her screaming for her life," recalled Burchnall.

The Crown has argued David avoided severe injury by chance when her boyfriend Thomas Ritchie stepped in, smashing out the driver’s window and turning the steering wheel, which ultimately freed David from under the car.

Defence counsel pressed Burchnall about possible inconsistencies in his testimony and previous police statements, raising questions about whether he was hit by the vehicle or slid out of the way and which window was rolled down on the vehicle.

“I think all that stuff is really irrelevant,” said Burchnall outside the court.

Under cross-examination, Burchnall admitted to using methamphetamines in the past but denied doing drugs that morning.

During his testimony, Burchnall described the driver as short, stocky and blond which does not match the accused’s current appearance.

He also brought up another strange twist in a case that police called “bizarre” — the victim Lisa David and the accused Loubissi-Morris where taken to hospital in the same ambulance on the day of the incident.

Loubissi-Morris has pleaded not guilty to all four charges he faces, including assault with a weapon.