The man charged after an airborne Tesla crashed in the city's south end in 2018, making international headlines, was on the stand in a Barrie courtroom Thursday for the first day of his trial.
James (Steven) Phipps, a 48-year-old Barrie man, was charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle following a collision on Little Avenue just before 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018.
Phipps has pleaded not guilty.
BarrieToday was able to obtain video surveillance footage of the crash from a neighbourhood resident, which shows the high-performance car catching air as it launches over the railroad tracks near Huronia Road while heading west along Little Avenue.
The video was submitted as evidence in Phipps' trial.
In court, one witness said the 2016 four-door Tesla was six feet in the air as it hit the incline at the railway crossing.
The vehicle travelled approximately 100 feet before crashing to the ground in the opposing lane and then coming to a rest as it struck a tree near the front entrance of Assikinack Public School.
Phipps and a passenger were taken to hospital and treated for minor injuries.
In court, Phipps tried to piece together what happened the night of the collision.
“I don’t remember too much. I think it was a restaurant we were going to,” Phipps testified. “I didn’t realize the tracks were there. It isn’t a road I go down usually. I know I was going too fast and when I saw the incline, I hit the brake, but I must have hit the side of the pedal and I think I ended up hitting the gas.
“I’m sorry for the stupidity," he said.
While on the stand, Phipps said he suffered a head injury more than 10 years ago and has trouble recalling events, especially while under duress.
Phipps was involved in a collision on July 16, 2009 when a motorcycle he was driving collided with another vehicle. That incident left him with a brain injury and permanent paralysis in his left arm. From the 2009 crash, he received a pension and a lump sum, which he used to buy a home in Barrie in 2014.
Estimating he paid $210,000 for the Tesla, Phipps said he had only owned it for approximately six months before the Little Avenue crash in 2018.
Phipps' lawyer, David Wilcox, told BarrieToday outside of court that the injuries from his previous crash form part of their defence.
“Yes, he pleaded not guilty and, as you can tell from his testimony, for good reason,” Wilcox said. “Mr. Phipps suffered a brain injury years ago and that has played a part here.”
According to evidence collected at the scene of the 2018 crash, a Barrie police reconstructionist testified Thursday that, seconds before the Tesla had gone airborne, it had reached 167 kilometres per hour in the 50 km/h zone.
Barrie police Const. Chris Allport told the court that not only was the car travelling at a high rate of speed, but that Phipps was not wearing a seat-belt, although it was noted that his passenger was safely restrained.
“There are times when the collision is severe enough where everything will show unbuckled, but in this case we have one buckled and one not, so we can conclude there was no power interruption," Allport said.
Assistant Crown attorney Maria Di Clemente asked Phipps why he wasn’t buckled up.
Phipps testified that he didn’t know he wasn’t wearing a seat-belt.
“I always do. I’m very big on wearing my seat-belt and making sure everyone in the vehicle wears one," he responded. "I don’t why I wouldn’t have been."
Witness Jacqueline Dobson told the court she was ready for bed and smoking a cigarette on her front porch when the crash happened on that summer night near Garden Drive.
“I noticed the headlights coming up over the slope where the tracks are and then saw this car fly up and in the air,” Dobson said. “I called the police and ran toward the car, which was way up on the grass of the school.
“He must have been almost six feet above the road and I think it lost control after it hit the ground and veered onto the field.”
Closing submissions are scheduled for Friday morning, with a judge's decision expected later in the day.
