A video was shown in court on Tuesday of a crash that took the life of a Fort Saskatchewan woman. Kassandra Gartner, 45, was struck and killed by a U-Haul in February 2024 after her SUV hit a spike belt intended for the U-Haul and she got out to check her tire. Peter Ashby, the alleged driver of the U-Haul, pleaded not guilty to 10 charges on Monday, including dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving causing bodily harm, flight from police, two counts of assault on a police officer with a weapon, and failure to stop at an accident causing death. The video shown at Ashby’s trial was shot by Air 1, the Edmonton Police Service helicopter, and showed the chase leading up to the deadly crash. The officer controlling the camera, and whose voice is primarily heard throughout the video, was called to testify. He was asked to explain how the camera works. When the line of questioning turned to how he estimated the speed of the U-Haul the defence argued the officer was becoming an expert witness. “That’s information that came out in testimony and this is why expert evidence is important,” the defence said, adding it didn’t give her a chance to adequately respond. The Crown disagreed, saying the officer is allowed to give an opinion of a speed estimation. A total of 13 minutes of footage from Air 1 as it followed the U-Haul from Beaumont to Edmonton was played. At one point an officer can be heard saying, “Had multiple vehicles run my spike?” While the judge said the audio is inadmissible in court as truth of contents, you can hear other vehicles hit a spike belt intended for the U-Haul. The video also captured the moment the U-Haul struck and killed Gartner. Many of her relatives left the courtroom when the video played. Those who stayed could be seen wiping away tears. In the first two days of calling evidence, the court has already heard from more than a dozen witnesses out of the 60 expected to testify. The trial continues Wednesday.
