Brian Careen acknowledges that when he first spoke to the driver of a white five-tonne truck at the scene of a serious accident on the Trans-Canada Highway two years ago, he may have used a few choice words he wasn’t willing to repeat on the witness stand.
The truck had just crashed into a Rav4 SUV, killing two men inside.
“I asked him what in the hell happened. I probably had a few F-words in there, too. I was upset,” Careen testified in provincial court Thursday afternoon, glancing apologetically at Judge Colin Flynn. “I asked him was he on his cellphone or did he fall asleep. He said, ‘I don’t know, I don’t know. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I probably fell asleep.’”
Careen noticed the man was taking pictures of the scene with his cellphone.
“I said, ‘What in the hell are you taking pictures of that goddamn truck for?’ Excuse the language,” Careen testified. “He said he was taking them to send to his girlfriend.”
There was audible unrest in the courtroom at that point, particularly among the family and supporters of Randy Ralph, 52, and Shannon Pittman, 40. The two men, both teachers at the youth correctional facility in Whitbourne, died as a result of the injuries they sustained in the crash.
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“Would you recognize the driver of the truck if you saw him again?” Crown prosecutor Tannis King asked Careen.
“Oh my God, yes,” Careen replied.
When King asked if he saw him in the courtroom, Careen looked around, then stood up and pointed to Kyle Follett, sitting in the dock.
“There he is there, sitting there with glasses on,” Careen said.
Follett, who is from Clarke’s Beach, is charged with driving without due care and attention in connection with the crash, which happened on the Trans-Canada Highway near Butter Pot Park in April 2016 and involved a number of other vehicles. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge, and his trial began in provincial court in St. John’s Wednesday.
The sequence of events began with Felicia Pynn and Lee Campbell, who had reportedly broken into a cabin in Deer Park earlier in the day and stolen a TV, an ATV and four helmets. They are said to have loaded the items in the back of a Dodge Ram pickup they were test-driving from a dealership.
Driving at a speed of more than 170 km/h back to St. John’s, the court heard, the truck somehow ended up in the median and the ATV fell out. Motorists, including Careen, stopped to see if everything was OK. When Ralph, Pittman and driver Dwayne Dalton — who survived the accident — approached in the SUV, Follett’s truck smashed into it from behind, setting off a pile-up.
Careen was speaking to Pynn and Campbell to make sure they were OK when he heard a loud crash behind him. He turned and saw the SUV; he says he didn’t know anyone was dead inside, but knew they had to be badly injured.
“Did you hear anything before that?” King asked Careen.
“No, I didn’t hear any screeching of tires or anything. As a matter of fact, I went back to check and I didn’t see any marks whatsoever on the highway,” Careen replied.
Defence lawyer Bob Simmonds questioned Careen on the statement he had made to police the day after the crash, noting he had described Follett as very upset. Careen hadn’t mentioned Follett taking photos at the scene to send to his girlfriend, and Follett was married at the time, Simmonds said.
“He could have said wife,” Careen answered. “I thought he said girlfriend, but he did say he was taking pictures to send to her.”
The punishment for a conviction of driving without due care or attention is a fine ranging from $300 to $1,000. Changes to the province’s Highway Traffic Act in December included the addition of a charge of driving without due care or attention causing bodily harm or death. That charge comes with potential sentences of a $2,000 to $20,000 fine, up to two years imprisonment and a licence suspension of up to five years.
The families of Ralph and Pittman have filed civil suits against Follett in connection with the men’s deaths.
Pynn had been subpoenaed to testify at Follett’s trial Wednesday, but didn’t show up. On Thursday, Simmonds asked the judge to issue a warrant for her arrest, saying she likely had the clearest view of the crash. Campbell has died since the accident.
“This is a person who is likely to be an eye witness, a better eye witness perhaps than the witnesses we’ve had before, and she’s not going to grace us with her presence and give us reasons why she shouldn’t be called, or even to send someone? This may only be a traffic ticket to anyone viewing it, but to my client it has extensive ramifications.”
Flynn will give his decision on the warrant Monday morning. The trial will continue with a police accident re-creation expert, who will testify via video from Yellowknife.
Twitter: tara_bradbury
