Further bystander accounts were heard in a Lethbridge courtroom about the incident where ten-year-old Charles McIntyre died after being hit by an SUV while crossing the street with his dad and younger brother.
The crown called two more eyewitnesses on the second day of the careless driving trial of Neil Skjodt on Tuesday.
After a Lethbridge police officer testified to photos he took of the scene, a father and daughter who drove up to the intersection at the time of the incident took the stand.
The daughter, Emma Bauer, told the court she was in the passenger seat when she saw a man and two boys walking down the street in what she called a “normal” situation.
She said she noticed a black GMC Terrain approach an intersection leaving a parking lot, then stop before the crosswalk.
According to the witness, she looked down at her phone and heard her father scream “Oh my god, he’s going to hit them.”
Her father, Robert Bauer testified he also saw the three pedestrians walking on the sidewalk, then stop before entering the crosswalk. Bauer testified the vehicle stopped before reaching the crosswalk and the trio started crossing.
He said the vehicle then moved forward, hitting the man — referencing Charles’ dad, Lee McIntyre.
He said Lee then hit the vehicle’s hood with his hands before he and the boys continued through the crosswalk.
Bauer said the vehicle then accelerated, running over one boy with the front driver-side wheel.
While cross-examining each witness, defense counsel Greg White suggested the vehicle failed to stop before the crosswalk, claiming there were discrepancies between their initial statements to police and Tuesday’s testimony. Both witnesses denied the claim.
Skjodt is charged with one count of careless driving under the traffic safety act.
The five-day trial continues on Wednesday with the crown planning to call ten more police officers who were on the scene.
The crown will also attempt to qualify another officer as an expert in collision analysis.