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People screamed and flailed their arms at Steven Conley as he ran his dump truck over 23-year-old cyclist Nusrat Jahan, an emotion-filled court heard Monday as the trial into a high-profile 2016 fatal crash began.
Jahan’s family wept in court as eyewitnesses described the gruesome crash scene in painful detail.
Conley, seated in court with family and supporters, and represented at trial by criminal defence lawyer Dominic Lamb, pleaded not guilty to charges of dangerous driving and criminal negligence causing death.
Jahan, the daughter of a diplomat with the Bangladesh High Commission, was cycling to school around 8 a.m. on Sept. 1, 2016 when she was struck and killed by the Tomlinson truck driven by Conley, then 38.
Witnesses told Superior Court Justice David Berg they saw the truck make a wide right turn from Laurier Avenue onto Lyon Street south when it struck the cyclist, who was riding eastbound in a dedicated bike lane.
Jahan was still screaming at the driver as she was pinned underneath the truck when, witnesses testified, the truck inched forward, crushing her under the back wheel.
“She was moving and yelling (under the truck) and I heard a sound like the release of air brakes,” testified Brett Hogan, who drives trucks as an army reservist, and witnessed the crash while walking home on Lyon Street that morning.
He was first alerted to what he said sounded like metal scraping on metal, then people screaming and yelling. He turned to see bystanders “flailing their arms” at the driver of the red Tomlinson dump truck stopped mid-intersection. Then he noticed the cyclist still under the truck.
“The (cyclist) screaming seemed to be right in front of the passenger side main axel … As I saw the truck begin rolling forward I yelled ‘stop’ and put my hand up,” he said. “The tires went over the person. There was a loud popping noise and then there was no more screaming.”
An image of the scene, post-collision, taken on Sept. 1, 2016.
Hogan said he believed only a few seconds passed between the time the truck first came to a stop — he noted the commotion on the street quieted momentarily — to the time it moved forward “ever so slightly and ever so slowly.”
As Hogan ran to help the woman, he noticed her bike “mangled and pinned” under the drive shaft in the centre of the truck.
The woman’s body was twisted in the truck’s rear axel. It appeared her legs were still wrapped around the bicycle, Hogan said.
“She was very difficult to reach,” said Hogan, who reached in to look for a pulse on her neck and drew his hand back covered in blood.
“I felt helpless,” he said, describing the pool of blood that began forming at his feet as paramedics arrived.
Crown prosecutor John Ramsay played two surveillance videos for the court — one taken from a City of Ottawa traffic camera, one from a restaurant overlooking a portion of the intersection — showing the moments leading to the crash.
Crown witness Laura Brundia said she was driving to work east on Laurier that morning behind the Tomlinson truck when it came to a stop at the intersection. She saw the light turn to a green arrow for traffic to continue straight along Laurier, and said she was “surprised” when the truck instead turned right. The driver did not signal, she said.
She said she saw the truck hit the cyclist, then saw the woman turn and look up at the truck’s windshield as it moved forward again as if in “slow motion.”
John Strickland, another witness who was cycling to work that morning, testified he heard a woman’s loud scream as the truck came to a stop. He didn’t see the driver, but said he saw several people gathering around the truck. He called 911, then later gave his statement to police.
Tomlinson at the time of the crash said it would be conducting its own investigation. Tomlinson official Trevor Fowles said in court Monday the company has ensured its cooperation with the investigation.
Jahan’s death and the outrage that ensued was the catalyst for a safety audit of downtown streets that made a number of recommendations.
The trial continues Tuesday.
ahelmer@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/helmera
查看原文...
Jahan’s family wept in court as eyewitnesses described the gruesome crash scene in painful detail.
Conley, seated in court with family and supporters, and represented at trial by criminal defence lawyer Dominic Lamb, pleaded not guilty to charges of dangerous driving and criminal negligence causing death.
Jahan, the daughter of a diplomat with the Bangladesh High Commission, was cycling to school around 8 a.m. on Sept. 1, 2016 when she was struck and killed by the Tomlinson truck driven by Conley, then 38.
Witnesses told Superior Court Justice David Berg they saw the truck make a wide right turn from Laurier Avenue onto Lyon Street south when it struck the cyclist, who was riding eastbound in a dedicated bike lane.
Jahan was still screaming at the driver as she was pinned underneath the truck when, witnesses testified, the truck inched forward, crushing her under the back wheel.
“She was moving and yelling (under the truck) and I heard a sound like the release of air brakes,” testified Brett Hogan, who drives trucks as an army reservist, and witnessed the crash while walking home on Lyon Street that morning.
He was first alerted to what he said sounded like metal scraping on metal, then people screaming and yelling. He turned to see bystanders “flailing their arms” at the driver of the red Tomlinson dump truck stopped mid-intersection. Then he noticed the cyclist still under the truck.
“The (cyclist) screaming seemed to be right in front of the passenger side main axel … As I saw the truck begin rolling forward I yelled ‘stop’ and put my hand up,” he said. “The tires went over the person. There was a loud popping noise and then there was no more screaming.”
An image of the scene, post-collision, taken on Sept. 1, 2016.
Hogan said he believed only a few seconds passed between the time the truck first came to a stop — he noted the commotion on the street quieted momentarily — to the time it moved forward “ever so slightly and ever so slowly.”
As Hogan ran to help the woman, he noticed her bike “mangled and pinned” under the drive shaft in the centre of the truck.
The woman’s body was twisted in the truck’s rear axel. It appeared her legs were still wrapped around the bicycle, Hogan said.
“She was very difficult to reach,” said Hogan, who reached in to look for a pulse on her neck and drew his hand back covered in blood.
“I felt helpless,” he said, describing the pool of blood that began forming at his feet as paramedics arrived.
Crown prosecutor John Ramsay played two surveillance videos for the court — one taken from a City of Ottawa traffic camera, one from a restaurant overlooking a portion of the intersection — showing the moments leading to the crash.
Crown witness Laura Brundia said she was driving to work east on Laurier that morning behind the Tomlinson truck when it came to a stop at the intersection. She saw the light turn to a green arrow for traffic to continue straight along Laurier, and said she was “surprised” when the truck instead turned right. The driver did not signal, she said.
She said she saw the truck hit the cyclist, then saw the woman turn and look up at the truck’s windshield as it moved forward again as if in “slow motion.”
John Strickland, another witness who was cycling to work that morning, testified he heard a woman’s loud scream as the truck came to a stop. He didn’t see the driver, but said he saw several people gathering around the truck. He called 911, then later gave his statement to police.
Tomlinson at the time of the crash said it would be conducting its own investigation. Tomlinson official Trevor Fowles said in court Monday the company has ensured its cooperation with the investigation.
Jahan’s death and the outrage that ensued was the catalyst for a safety audit of downtown streets that made a number of recommendations.
The trial continues Tuesday.
ahelmer@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/helmera
查看原文...
