Accused driver may have had seizure, criminal trial hears
Witness describes phone conversation before and then during deadly collision
Moments before Calgarian James Robert Farkas lost control of his pickup truck and smashed into a car, killing its two occupants, he had an apparent seizure, his best friend testified Tuesday.
Dylan Nicholas said he was on a Bluetooth phone call with Farkas shortly after noon on Aug. 2, 2017, when his friend suddenly went silent.
Nicholas told Crown prosecutor Andrew Barg he was having a normal conversation with Farkas about the accused’s banking problems and concern about going to Strathmore to pick up his paycheque.
“He wasn’t having the best of days ... he was a little bit stressed out,” Nicholas said.
“That was about when things went sideways.”
Nichols said their conversation abruptly stopped.
“There was just silence, kind of mid-sentence.”
Nichols told provincial court Judge Mark Tyndale he then heard a quick whine and squeal, which he at first thought was his friend before realizing it was the truck engine.
“I thought it was him making a sound and then I realized it was the engine, not him,” he said.
“I knew right then, because I know his history, in my mind he was having a seizure.”
Farkas, 44, faces two charges of criminal negligence causing death in connection with the collision that killed siblings Ritvik, 20, and Rashmi Bale, 24.
The brother and sister were in his car exiting the parking lot of the Great Canadian Superstore at 46th Street and 130th Avenue S.E. when Farkas’ pickup truck broadsided them.
Nicholas said Farkas had a history of seizures at the time of the crash.
“When he went silent, I knew there was something wrong with Jimmy,” the witness said.
“It sounded like he was convulsing in the vehicle.”
He said he repeatedly yelled his friend’s name, to no avail.
“I was still yelling at him and then I heard a crash, I heard the impact.”
Nicholas said his friend was noncommunicative for about two minutes before he started “coming to.”
“He didn’t know where he was ... he had no idea who I was.”
Under cross-examination, the witness told defence lawyer Curtis Mennie he had seen Farkas angry and stressed out before without it triggering a seizure.
Meanwhile, the first officer on the scene, Const. Andrew Gooderham, said he looked for signs of impairment on Farkas, but noted none.
Gooderham said he is always alert to the possibility a driver in a crash could be impaired, “especially a collision of this severity.”