Man who struck child was sober insists wife
The wife of the man who ran over a toddler on an Edmonton restaurant patio angrily and loudly testified Thursday that her husband wasn’t drunk.
Gayska Suter testified at the sentencing hearing for her husband, Richard Suter, after he pleaded guilty to failing to provide a breath sample after the death of two- yearold Geo Mounsef in May 2013.
“I would not be in the car with a man who was so impaired; that would never happen,” Gayska Suter shouted from the witness stand.
“It was an accident,” she repeatedly said in a raised voice.
She emphasized that her husband would never drive drunk because the couple were severely injured by a drunk driver themselves in 1976. She remembers nothing of that accident and her spouse still has leg injuries nearly three decades later.
Richard Suter admitted he drank two vodkas with orange juice and a portion of a beer in the hours before the crash, but maintains he was not impaired. He refused to provide a breath sample.
His 64- year- old wife described a chaotic scene in the moments after her husband drove through the glass barrier of Ric’s Grill and sent diners and tables flying. A waitress and Geo Mounsef’s family suffered injuries, but only his wounds were fatal.
“I could hear people screaming, yelling, pounding on the car and I immediately jumped out and tried to push the car back,” Gayska Suter testified.
The retired teacher told court that she thought her husband was brave to get out of his vehicle to see what he could do. Court has already heard Suter was shoved and slapped after he stepped outside.
Richard Suter previously told court he accidentally stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brake because he was distracted by an argument with his wife. Gayska Suter testified she told her husband of 44 years they should get divorced, something she told court she’d mentioned 300 times before.
Like her husband, Gayska Suter read a letter of apology to Geo Mounsef’s family from the witness stand. Some members of Geo Mounsef’s family walked out of the courtroom before she began.
“I can only tell you how sorry I am for the loss of your son,” she read out. “Like you, I would gladly trade my life to save his if I could.”
In her testimony, Gayska Suter denied she’d fled the scene or removed anything from the SUV. She claimed a police officer drove her from the restaurant.
The sentencing hearing continues.