Driver pleads not guilty in trial for fatal hit and run

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This article was published 18/04/2024 (713 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man’s mental state is the question at the heart of a trial that began on Wednesday in the fatal hit-and-run death of an 81-year-old Brandon man.

The victim was hit by a truck on the crosswalk outside of Shoppers Mall in 2022.

Kenneth Austin, 69, pleaded not guilty to failure to stop after an accident resulting in death. He is also facing a Highway Traffic Act charge of careless driving causing death.

The trial began in provincial court Wednesday morning with a presentation by the Crown of the agreed statement of facts, which included surveillance footage video and photographs of the scene.

On Oct. 4, 2022 around 10 a.m., an 81-year-old man was attempting to cross Richmond Avenue toward the Shoppers Mall at the crosswalk, when he was struck by a Ford F-150 truck as he neared the median. The truck was pulling a utility trailer.

Video surveillance from Shoppers Mall, which was played during the court hearing, showed the truck and victim at the time of the collision, and the truck’s subsequent movement into the Shoppers Mall parking lot. Video footage also showed a man later walking into and out of a clothing store at the mall.

Crown attorney Sarah Kok said the victim sustained fractures to his skull and ribs. On Oct. 9, the victim died and a coroner’s report linked the victim’s injuries from the collision to his death.

Kok also said the lights on the crosswalk weren’t working and that the weather was bright and dry that day.

Photographs of the Ford F-150 presented at the hearing showed damage to the front bumper of the truck, where there was also a red stain.

Later that day, police were called to a Petro-Canada gas station where a caller told police she had seen the truck involved in the collision. Around 4:20 p.m., officers arrested Austin at the gas station for failing to remain at the scene for an accident causing bodily harm.

During his arrest, Austin told police that he didn’t remember hitting the victim.

After the victim died, Austin was charged with failing to remain at the scene for an accident causing death.

Prosecutors said the question for the court to consider was the mental state of Austin.

Defence lawyer Andrew Synyshyn said there was no doubt that Austin was operating the truck, that he struck the victim and that the victim died as a result.

“The question is going to be, to what extent was Mr. Austin aware of such an accident?” Synyshyn said, adding, “What level does his own mental capacity come to bear in that consideration?”

The Crown called seven witnesses. The first were in a truck behind the Ford F-150 on Richmond Avenue. Both men testified that they saw an elderly man run across the crosswalk. Neither saw the exact point when the truck collided with the man because the Ford F-150 obscured their view.

They stopped and called 911, waiting with the victim until emergency crews arrived.

The third and fourth witnesses were employees at Sport Chek. Both testified to interacting with a man who came into the store on Oct. 4.

One employee identified Austin, who was sitting in the courtroom, as the man she had interacted with that day. After the man came into the store, she asked him if he needed help with anything, she testified. He replied that he was looking for Walmart. She gave him directions, but when he appeared not to understand, she led him over to the cash register to draw him a map, she said.

While they were walking toward the cash register, Austin knocked a shirt off of a hanger and struggled to put it back on the hanger, she testified. She testified that he appeared confused and did not seem to respond when she continued to draw him a map of how to get to Walmart.

Cross examination focused on Austin appearing unkempt and emitting an odour.

The other Sport Chek employee testified that she showed the man the route to Walmart on Google Maps when he asked more questions after her co-worker drew him a map. She testified that is was “strange that he didn’t understand simple instructions” and was concerned about him driving.

Next, the court heard from a security officer who worked at Shoppers Mall.

She testified that she watched the surveillance video that was given to police on the day of the collision, and then as she was driving home from work that day, she coincidentally saw the same truck at a Petro-Canada gas station. She then approached Austin, told him the police were looking for him and used his phone to call police, who then subsequently arrived and arrested him.

She testified that Austin said that maybe something had hit his truck.

Cross-examination focused on whether she remembered what she told Austin that day. She confirmed that Austin’s response to her came after she had told him that there had been an accident.

The Crown’s last witnesses of the day were two police officers, who both testified that they didn’t have any concerns during their interactions and interviews with Austin about his emotional state or his ability to understand their questions and instructions.

Cross-examination focused on how the examples of instructions that Const. Dylan Jeske gave to Austin could have been understood by most people. Jeske agreed.

During the cross-examination of Const. Trent Karvonen, Synyshyn asked if he had other interactions with Austin after the October collision and he said that he had. When asked what those interactions were, Karvonen responded that they were about Highway Traffic Act tickets.

Synyshyn asked that the trial be adjourned, saying he had not received this information from the Crown.

Judge Patrick Sullivan granted the adjournment.

The trial is scheduled to continue on Thursday morning when the Crown is expected to call its last witness, another police officer.

» gmortfield@brandonsun.com

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