Passenger haunted by gas and dash death

The passenger in the stolen pickup which ran over and killed gas station clerk Maryam Rashidi said Tuesday he still has nightmares about her death.

And an often teary Braydon Brown said accused murderer Joshua Mitchell declared “I’m just gonna go,” if a pursuing Rashidi stepped in front of their truck after they had stolen gas from the Centex station where she worked.

Mitchell is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Rashidi, who succumbed to her injuries two days after the June 7, 2015, collision.

He’s also charged with hit and run where a death occurred, theft of gas and possession of the stolen truck.

Brown told Crown prosecutor Jonathan Hak he and Mitchell had been hanging around for days after the accused had stolen a Ford F350 pickup in Airdrie.

He said on the morning of June 7, they were looking for a gas station which would allow them to pump gas and then pay inside.

But Brown admitted he and Mitchell had no intention of paying for the tank of diesel the witness filled the pickup with.

Instead, Brown jumped into the back seat of the stolen truck and Mitchell pulled away.

Brown said soon after he saw Rashidi chasing them on foot as they made their way through the parking lot of a nearby Home Depot store on 16 Ave. N.W.

“I was watching her as we were driving through the parking lot,” Brown told a five-man, sevenwoman Court of Queen’s Bench jury.

He said Mitchell was able to “push his way through” into traffic, but they got held up and Rashidi was able to catch them.

“She came up to the passenger side window,” Brown said.

“She started banging on the window and said ‘you didn’t pay,’” he said. “I didn’t know what to do, I was scared.”

At that point, Mitchell said he wasn’t going to stop for her.

“He said if she gets in front of me I’m just gonna go,” Brown said.

“After she had banged on the window a couple of times she went around to the front of the truck and jumped onto the hood.”

Mitchell tried to back up to jar her loose, but there was a car behind them.

“She leaned forward a little bit to brace herself a little more,” the witness said.

“He looked at me and said ‘I’m going to go.’” Mitchell then started driving. “I looked out the back window and I could see her body rolling, it looked like her head exploded, I could see so much blood,” Brown said.

He said he could feel the vehicle jump as the front and rear tires rolled over her. Just before Mitchell took off, Brown looked at Rashidi on the hood.

“I could see the look of fear in her eyes as soon as he put it in drive,” Brown said.

“She didn’t know what to do, she was stuck.”

He wasn’t sure how quickly Rashidi fell from the hood, but “she was on for a good couple of feet.”

“I still have nightmares about it every night,” he said, crying.

Brown, who was 16 at the time, was not charged with any offence in connection with the gas theft and Rashidi’s death.

Jurors will hear final arguments on Thursday.