Driver hit motorcyclist intentionally: Crown

Eric Gosse committed an “intentional act” when his SUV hit a motorcycle at Ogden Point on July 24, 2013, says the Crown prosecutor in his B.C. Supreme Court trial.

“Mr. Gosse drove at a high rate of speed at a motorcycle that was clearly visible, clearly there to be seen,” Clare Jennings said during her final submission Wednesday.

“He sped up when he drove at that motorcycle.”

Gosse has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon — his vehicle. He has pleaded not guilty on all counts.

Jennings told Justice Jennifer Power that the Crown has no evidence to say that what happened was a road-rage incident, and that no motive has been put forward.

As a result of the collision, Ron Broda, a former Saanich police officer, had his left leg amputated below the knee and suffered numerous other injuries.

Jennings said surveillance video that captured the crash shows Gosse speeding directly at Broda without braking, which she said does not indicate an accident.

“That’s a choice,” she said. “That’s not a momentary lapse at all.”

Defence lawyer Peter Firestone countered that there was nothing intentional about the collision and the charges against Gosse are not warranted.

He said the case is “on the side of the continuum of civil negligence or undue care and attention.”

Firestone said that the collision was “a regular car accident” in which Gosse made an error in judgment. “It’s a tragedy, really.” The defence lawyer said the case didn’t follow the sequence of a “standard road rage” incident, where a driver gets out of a vehicle and starts casting blame.

He said Gosse had nothing against Broda or motorcycles, and that a lack of motive points toward reasonable doubt in the case. He added that a curve in the road leading up to the crash site limited the view Broda would have had.

Firestone said there is no indication that the men were known to each other prior to the crash. He said cameras mounted at different vantage points in Victoria that showed the SUV and motorcycle travelling in the same vicinity on the way to Ogden Point prove nothing.

Firestone said the cameras cover only three points, not a complete route.

“There is no evidence that either vehicle was ever aware of each other.”

Jennings, however, said the cameras indicate that Gosse must have known the motorcycle was behind him.

The closing submissions are expected to wrap up today.