Cycling tragedy trial

Guy McPhee will learn tomorrow whether he’s guilty of careless driving in a crash that killed cyclist Jay Keddy on the Claremont access in December 2015.

McPhee testified that he didn’t see Jay Keddy on his bike. He had been shoulder checking to change lanes and felt the impact. He pulled over, stopped, got out and looked but only saw paper. He left, rather than keep his truck in a lane of traffic and he called police when he got home.

But the crown says McPhee had 300 metres of straightaway on the road and a good 20 seconds where he should have seen the cyclist, and by his own evidence, he’s guilty of careless driving.

“At the point of impact, whether he saw him or not, it’s too late,” she said drivers are expected to look for traffic ahead before trying to change lanes, and witnesses say visibility was good.

But McPhee’s lawyer said Jay Keddy’s behaviour was also a factor in the collision.

“We’re not here to trumpet the rights of cyclists on the hill, but it is unusual to see cyclists on the Claremont during a December evening rush hour”, Dean Paquette said. Keddy was wearing dark clothes at dusk. Did his heavy bag disrupt his balance? Did the sewer grate get in his way? Paquette says Keddy is not on trial, but nor has McPhee been proven a careless driver.

The Justice of the Peace will return with a decision Friday afternoon.