Thomas Whittle switched from being a defendant representing himself to a witness in his own defence when he took the stand in the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador in Corner Brook on Thursday.
The 29-year-old Conception Bay South man is on trial for allegedly causing the death of 21-year-old Justyn Pollard in a snowmobile accident at Humber Valley Resort on Feb. 19, 2017.
Because Whittle is self-represented, the procedure was a little different than in a normal trial. Justice George Murphy told him he would first speak to the jury and then be questioned by Randy Piercey, acting as amicus curiae, and cross-examined by Crown attorney Renee Coates.
He told Whittle: “You should be telling the jury everything you want them to hear.”
Whittle began by saying he came to the west coast with friends to go snowmobiling and then took the jury through events of the trip leading up to the accident. That included admitting to consuming alcohol that night.
At 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 19, he said they returned to their chalet and took the snowmobile of one of his friends to another chalet about three or four minutes away. Sometime later, he left that chalet and encountered Pollard outside.
When the two left on the snowmobile, Whittle said he was on the front and Pollard was on the back.
After the accident, he spent eight days at Western Memorial Regional Hospital before being flown to St. John’s where he spent another 21 days in hospital and underwent surgery on a broken leg. He couldn’t walk for seven months and had to learn to do so again with the use of a walker and physiotherapy.
He said he lost both his jobs, has to sign in weekly with the RCMP, is not allowed to drive, has lost some good friends and that he’d like to get on with his life.
When questioned by Piercey, Whittle said he first drank one or two beer before leaving for supper, another three or four at the restaurant and brought an eight-pack of beer to the other chalet where he drank three or four more beer, then three more about 10-15 minutes before leaving the chalet.
Pollard was outside the chalet and Whittle said he wanted to drive the snowmobile. He said Pollard had been on it with someone else just before that.
When asked who was driving, Whittle said he was on the front at one point and Pollard was on the back. “But he was under control of the brake on the left-hand side and the throttle on the right-hand side.”
Whittle said they changed positions a few times, but seconds before the accident, it was Pollard who was driving.
Asked how Pollard was able to drive from behind, he said Pollard’s hands were under his armpits and on the handlebars.
Asked what he saw in a picture taken from video footage obtained from security cameras at the security building located just before the bridge at the resort, Whittle said he saw a big blur. He could see a set of hands in control of the snowmobile, but not say whose hands.
He said his hands were not in control of the snowmobile as it came over the bridge.
Under cross-examination, Coates asked Whittle to clarify that he and Pollard switched places and to explain why he did that.
Whittle said it was cold and he didn’t have a coat and they also changed places to get their bearings. At one point, he was driving from the front with Pollard on the back and then they switched spots and then switched again with Pollard driving from the back.
Coates questioned him several times on how Pollard could possibly drive from the position he was in, with Whittle answering it was possible. She then pointed out that in all of his statements to police Whittle never mentioned they had switched spots.
“I veered it off, he was driving.” — Thomas Whittle
Whittle said he did in an off-the-record conversation.
Coates also spent considerable time questioning Whittle on the amount of alcohol that he’d consumed that night — estimated to be up to 14 beer — and whether or not he felt impaired at any time. He said no.
Returning to the driving of the snowmobile and how the two switched places, Coates asked Whittle if he would agree that at the time when he tried to veer the snowmobile off to the side that he had care of control of the snowmobile.
“No that would be false,” he replied. “I veered it off, he was driving.”
Whittle had been charged with impaired driving by alcohol causing death, impaired driving causing death with a blood alcohol concentration exceeding 80 milligrams, dangerous driving causing death and impaired driving by drug causing death.
But before Whittle took the stand Murphy informed the jury that as a matter of law, he was withdrawing the fourth count on the indictment — impaired driving by drug causing death — and that they would only deliberate on the other three counts.
The announcement came just minutes after Murphy granted a defence application asking for a directed verdict on the charge.
Later in the afternoon, the jury was sent home. They'll return Monday to hear closing submissions from Whittle and the lawyers, receive their instructions from Murphy and begin deliberations on whether Whittle is innocent or guilty of the three charges he now faces.
@WS_DianeCrocker
Diane Crocker is a reporter covering the west coast of Newfoundland.
