Paralyzed man testifies in P.E.I. bike crash trial

Alan Stanley was seated in his wheelchair in the witness stand Wednesday as he testified in Charlottetown Provincial Court about the crash involving his bicycle and a car last August.

• Driver on trial for P.E.I. crash involving cyclist

"It was a beautiful summer day," he said as testimony began. "We were near the end of the ride when it happened. We'd gone about 90 kilometres."

Stanley was headed south on Brackley Point Road in Charlottetown with a group of about 20 or 30 cyclists on Aug. 1, 2015, when his bike collided with an on-coming car that was making a left turn.

Stanley testified all he remembered was hitting the brakes at the last minute and then waking up in the hospital.

Jordan Arsenault-Loeman, 25, of Saint John, N.B., has pleaded not guilty to making an unsafe turn, under the Highway Traffic Act.

Often led the pack

Wednesday morning, a fellow cyclist testified Stanley was one of the fastest riders in their group, and often led the pack.

She also testified Stanley "broke the rules of the road" once in a while, such as exceeding the speed limit or going through stop signs.

"But only when there were no cars in sight and it was safe," she testified.

The court also examined speed data downloaded from a GPS on Stanley's bike.

45 km per hour

That data shows Stanley was going 45 kilometres per hour just before the crash took place.

The speed limit was 50.

But the defence is trying to argue Stanley was going too fast for the traffic conditions.

Drivers have testified traffic was heavy and moving slowly. Cars were stopped in both directions, trying to make turns.

The cyclist was in the bike lane, passing to the right of stopped traffic.

Stanley has filed a civil suit against the driver.

The driver has filed a statement of defence claiming he is not at fault. He is expected to testify Thursday afternoon.

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