Two-day trial underway for man accused in 2018 fatal hit and run

After she passed them, she stopped to let one or more deer cross the highway, and believed she saw one of the two people walking, stumble, as she glanced in her rear-view mirror.

Upon cross-examination, White Quill’s Defense lawyer Balfour Der asked whether the two were dressed in dark clothing, and whether she was certain they had been on a pedestrian path, rather than on the roadway. She testified she was not entirely certain.

D.J. Longtime Squirrel

The Crown’s second witness, D.J. Longtime Squirrel, testified she and Good Rider had been dating at the time of his death. On Sept. 2, around 10:30 a.m., the two bought a 26 ounce bottle of vodka, and walked to a laundromat in north Lethbridge where she attempted to fix her broken down vehicle.

Over the next few hours, Good Rider consumed about half of the bottle of vodka. The two then walked to the Supervised Consumption Site after failing to fix the car, bought some crystal meth, and smoked it at the SCS. The two then walked to Rib Fest at Galt Gardens, where they met Longtime Squirrel’s sister, boyfriend and child. During that time, they finished the bottle, bought another, and shared some fentanyl.

Longtime Squirrel said she and Good Rider decided to walk back to her home, south of the city, after failing to secure a ride that evening. As they walked along Highway 5, an argument broke out. The two at times walked on the roadway, moving out of the way when they heard vehicles driving behind them.

A short time later, Longtime Squirrel said she heard an accelerating vehicle. She briefly turned to see two headlights, while Good Rider told her to “hurry up,” and “get out of the way.” She told the court she was on the shoulder of the road, while Good Rider was on the roadway but very close to her.

It was then that she heard a “thump” as she described. She fell onto her hands and knees and could not see her boyfriend, but as she got back up, saw what she described as a black or dark blue Dodge truck driving away. A truck behind the one that had struck Good Rider stopped to help.

A good samaritan found Good Rider lying in the road, some distance from where he was hit. As she approached him, Longtime Squirrel began crying and screaming, because she knew he had died.

Upon cross examination, the Defense suggested to Longtime Squirrel that the amount of alcohol and drugs the two had consumed throughout the day and evening had impaired not only their judgement, but also her memory of what happened. However, Longtime Squirrel insisted she and Good Rider were able to walk, talk and carry on conversations.

“You’re saying you can drink this amount of liquor and drugs… that had no effect on your memory or mental capacity?” asked Der. “Have you ever heard of walking facing traffic?”

“Yup I have,” answered Longtime Squirrel.

Der then suggested the woman’s memory was in fact not as accurate as she thought, introducing the possibility that the two had been in the middle of the road, and that she had in fact run in front of an oncoming truck.

Eric James Godlonton

On Sept. 2, 2018 Eric Godlonton was travelling north on Highway 5, on his way to work after leaving his home in Magrath between 3:30 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. He testified that as he was heading towards Lethbridge, he saw two people in the middle of the road, and he slowed down.

A woman, he said, tried to run in front of his truck and he swerved to avoid her. He stopped a short distance away and turned on his hazard lights.

He noticed the two people were under a streetlight, but not on the shoulder of the road; rather, they were on the yellow line dividing the northbound and southbound lanes. The male he said, was holding the hand of the female, who appeared to be trying to run into the northbound lane.

The woman was several feet away from the front of his truck, while the man was about 10 feet away. He stopped to see if anyone needed assistance.

As he was getting out of his truck, he saw an oncoming vehicle, raised his hands and arms above his head to motion for the driver to slow down. The driver of that vehicle did not appear to slow, and while Godlonton said he didn’t see Good Rider hit- he heard it. He then saw the female fall into the northbound lane and walked over to her to ask where her partner was.

Godlonton then got back into his vehicle and noticed that the woman had located her partner. He drove to the location – about 100 yards away – while calling 9-1-1, and then blocked the southbound lane to any additional traffic.

The truck that had hit Good Rider did not stop, nor did Godlonton observe any brake lights to indicate the vehicle had slowed down. He told police he believed the truck was red, but became unsure after hearing Longtime Squirrel say the truck was dark coloured.

The woman, he testified, had become hysterical. As he was on the phone with emergency officials, Godlonton began performing CPR on the man lying on the highway. At no point did he see or hear any sign of life.

Emergency vehicles arrived within a few minutes, and Godlonton stayed to give a statement to police. A piece of the truck that had hit Good Rider was still in the roadway.

According to RCMP, White Quills was not arrested until more than four months after the accident occurred.

The trial resumes Friday.

by Lara Fominoff

Two-day trial underway for man accused in 2018 fatal hit and run

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