Skier ‘categorically hit me’: Gwyneth Paltrow takes the stand in ski-collision trial
Gwyneth Paltrow took the stand Friday in a civil trial over allegations that she negligently crashed into a retired optometrist in 2016 while skiing, causing him lasting damage.
Paltrow has been on hand in the Park City, Utah, courtroom since the trial began Tuesday and has listened to testimony from witnesses called by lawyers representing her accuser, Terry Sanderson.
One of Sanderson’s attorneys, Kristin Vanorman, grilled the actor and wellness influencer for nearly an hour on her recollection of the details of the incident, as well as her knowledge of ski rules and etiquette.
At one point, when Vanorman asked Paltrow whether she knew of a rule about exchanging contact information at the time of a skiing collision, she replied that she felt Sanderson was at fault and that her ski instructor had promised to give Sanderson her info and told her to ski toward her kids.
Gwyneth Paltrow is expected to testify Friday in the trial over an allegation that she negligently crashed into a man on a Utah ski slope in 2016.
“I appreciate that, but my question was, did you know of the rule of skiing that if you are in a collision that you need to share that information?” Vanorman repeated, pressing Paltrow.
“I don’t think I was aware of the rule,” she responded.
Sanderson initially filed the $3.1-million lawsuit, which now seeks about $300,000 in damages, in 2019.
From the outset, Paltrow’s and Sanderson’s memories of the event have differed sharply. Jurors must decide whether Paltrow acted negligently during the crash, and much of that turns on who was uphill and who was downhill. A downhill skier has the right of way.
During testimony, Paltrow maintained her position, echoing statements given in her counterclaim and recalling that Sanderson’s “body pressed up into my back, so I froze ... and then it was probably a few good seconds, and then we fell to the right.”
She then said she told Sanderson, “‘You skied directly into my effing back,’ and he said, ‘Oh, sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.’”
Gwyneth Paltrow was present in Park City, Utah, as a jury began hearing arguments about whether she is liable for a 2016 crash on the ski slopes.
Earlier in the trial on Tuesday, Greg Ramone, a Sanderson ski buddy who said he witnessed the crash, testified that Paltrow was uphill and had skied into Sanderson.
When Vanorman reminded Paltrow of Ramone’s earlier testimony from Tuesday, the actor-entrepreneur rejected his testimony.
“I don’t believe that he saw what he thinks he saw,” she said.
“Ms. Paltrow,” Vanorman asked, creating a tense moment, “why would he lie?”
After an objection from her attorney, which the judge overruled, Paltrow commented on Ramone’s color-blindness and distance from the crash.
“If you have two people in ski gear and you’re 40-plus feet away, I’m not sure you can discern who is who,” Paltrow said. “And I can tell he didn’t, because Mr. Sanderson categorically hit me on that ski slope, and that is the truth.”
“And I‘m sure that’s what you believe,” Vanorman said.
“Because it’s the truth,” Paltrow replied.
Trial begins this week in a lawsuit that accuses Gwyneth Paltrow of a hit-and-run ski accident in Utah in 2016. The trial is scheduled for eight days.
Throughout the trial, Sanderson’s legal team has attempted to paint the 76-year-old as a once-avid skier, traveler and family man whose health deteriorated in the years since the crash, casting blame on Paltrow’s alleged out-of-control skiing. Other witnesses who testified include medical experts, a former romantic partner and Sanderson’s daughter.
At the end of Friday’s proceedings, lawyers for Sanderson said they planned to call him to the stand first thing Monday, before resting their case.
Paltrow’s attorneys have yet to call a witness. However, her husband, TV writer-producer Brad Falchuk, and her two teenage children with ex-husband Chris Martin, Apple and Moses, are expected to testify during the trial, which will stretch into next week. Paltrow’s family had been skiing together while on vacation at Deer Valley Resort when the incident took place.
Friday began with continuing pre-recorded testimony from Richard Boehne, a neurologist who examined Sanderson and spoke to the traumatic brain injuries that Boehne said were from the crash. Other witnesses called Friday morning were Sanderson’s daughter, Shae Sanderson Herath, and her brother-in-law, Mark Stephen Herath.
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