ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — The data recorded by Joshua Steele-Young's Honda Civic on March 20, 2017 was detailed, down to the 10 half-seconds before the vehicle crashed.
Five seconds before the crash, the car's tires were rotating at a speed of 129 kilometres an hour, the brakes were not touched, and the steering wheel was turned about five degrees to the right, consistent with the part of Pitts Memorial Drive on which it had been travelling.
At 4.5 seconds, the gas pedal was pressed about 27 per cent, there was still no brake, the tires were turning at 130 kilometres an hour and the steering wheel was turned 20 degrees to the left.
One second later, the brake had been applied, and the steering wheel was significantly turned to the right.
"It's consistent with somebody who's trying to correct something that's going on," RNC Const. Barry Osmond, an expert in crash data retrieval and interpretation, and the lead investigator on 6,000 motor vehicle collisions during his career, said in court Wednesday.
The data was consistent with a driver who was paying attention and focused on their driving, Osmond said.
The recorded data then indicated the Civic had rolled, deploying its airbag system.
It was at that point that Steele-Young's ex-girlfriend, Morgan Pardy, who had been sitting in the front passenger seat, was ejected from the car and thrown high into the air, receiving serious injuries. She is now paralyzed from the chest down.
Steele-Young, 23, has pleaded not guilty to charges of forcible confinement and dangerous driving causing bodily harm in connection with the crash. His trial began last fall and wrapped up in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court in St. John's Wednesday, with his testimony as the first and only witness for the defence.
The court previously heard testimony from a number of Crown witnesses, including Osmond and Pardy, who returned to the courtroom to hear Steele-Young testify.
Pardy testified she had ended her five-month relationship with Steele-Young days before the crash, but had agreed to go for a drive with him that morning to talk. The pair began to argue, she said, and Steele-Young grew angry. Pardy said she undid her seatbelt and demanded he let her out of the car, but he didn't.
It was snowing at the time of the crash and the roads were snow-covered, the court heard.
Pardy told the court she had yelled at Steele-Young to slow down and stop the car to let her out. He was angry and yelling, she testified, and she demonstrated how she had used her elbow to push back against Steele-Young's arm in an effort to get him to stop hitting the console.
The 23-year-old said Steele-Young had responded by raising his elbow in her direction and sneering at her. It was at that point that she unbuckled her seatbelt, she testified.
"I was crying. I was screaming, ‘Let me out of the f---ing car!’" Pardy said. "It felt like five seconds later I woke up in the ICU."
On the stand this week, Steele-Young said the pair had mutually broken up, and had been arguing in the vehicle while he was driving, shouting over the loud music.
"We were just yelling really, really bad, calling each other down to dirt," he testified.
He said Pardy had commented on him driving over a pothole before they got on the highway, making fun of him for it.
On Pitts Memorial Drive, Steele-Young was in the passing lane because it had less snow buildup, he said, when Pardy pushed his arm and forced him to lose control of the car.
"When she hit my arm, I was in the passing lane with both hands on the steering wheel because I was in fifth gear," Steele-Young testified. "She pushed my right arm and it caused me to go left. I tried to get control."
He said he hadn't seen Pardy remove her seatbelt and hadn't heard the warning beep over the music.
"Did she ever say she wanted out of the vehicle?" Steele-Young's lawyer, Randy Piercey, asked him. "Was it ever your intention not to let her out?"
"No," Steele-Young replied to both questions.
On cross-examination, prosecutor Jennifer Lundrigan questioned Steele-Young on why he had been driving 130 km/h in a 100 km/h zone with slippery road conditions.
He acknowledged the conditions were not ideal for the speed.
"If they want to get in my car without a seatbelt on, they can do what they want if they're not going to listen to me." — Joshua Steele-Young
She asked him why he had put on his seatbelt, and he told her it's what he did any time he got into a vehicle, for safety.
"As a driver, would you have been concerned about someone else in the car not wearing their seatbelt?" Lundrigan asked.
"No, it's their responsibility," Steele-Young replied. "If they want to get in my car without a seatbelt on, they can do what they want if they're not going to listen to me."
Lundrigan asked Steele-Young why he hadn't pulled over when he and Pardy began arguing.
"Because I had no reason to," he answered, saying the arguing hadn't distracted him from driving. "It was an argument. Everybody argues. Why would I pull over?"
When it came to Pardy pushing his right elbow, Lundrigan pointed out Steele-Young would have still had his left hand on the wheel, similar to the way he would while changing gears with his right hand.
"I want to make it clear that you're saying that she pushed your elbow while you were driving 130 kilometres an hour on the highway, in the snow, with loud music playing and while yelling, and she did this even though she had previously complained about your driving?"
"She didn't complain, she made fun of me for driving over a pothole," Steele-Young replied.
Lundrigan and Piercey will present their closing submissions to the court Friday morning.
Twitter: @tara_bradbury
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