OPP Sgt. Darryl Storey told a trauma room team he believed he was travelling about 100 kilometres per hour when the collision that killed an 18-year-old Thunder Bay woman occurred.
The criminal negligence causing death trial against Storey continued Wednesday afternoon. He was charged after being involved in a December 2008 collision with 18-year-old Jasmine Veneruzzo near Twin City Crossroads and Highway 11/17.
Superior-North EMS paramedic James Frizado testified Wednesday in Day 3 of the trial and said that while he was helping to roll Storey off of a backboard in the trauma unit at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, he heard the OPP officer tell the doctor what had happened.
Storey allegedly said he was in charge of the OPP’s fleet and had just received the unmarked cruiser involved in the collision back from maintenance. It had previously had steering issues and he was testing it on Highway 11/17 to make sure it was in operational order, Frizado testified.
Storey told them he was driving the car at top speed – 210 kilometres per hour.
He saw Veneruzzo’s car pull onto the highway, he tried to brake and believed the accident occurred at approximately 100 kilometres per hour.
Frizado said there was at least five people in the room at the time Storey told them his account of the collision including the ER doctor and a nurse.
Frizado also told the court that he and his partner Andre Kennepohl arrived at the scene of the crash at 10:02 a.m. on Dec. 3. Since Frizado is an advanced care paramedic, he attended to Veneruzzo while Kennepohl saw to Storey.
He approached Veneruzzo and checked for vital signs.
“She was pulseless,” he said.
The equipment to extract her from the vehicle wasn’t there yet, so he went to help with the treatment of Storey.
Frizado and Kennepohl along with OPP Sgt. John Haley rode with Storey to the hospital.
Frizado will continue his testimony when the trial resumes on Monday at the Superior Court of Justice.
