The trial for a Coquitlam man accused of killing Lorraine Cruz and Charlene Reaveley in a drunken hit-and-run began Monday in New Westminster.
The alleged driver, Cory Sater, has pleaded not-guilty to 10 charges, including one count of failing to remain at the scene and two counts of impaired driving causing death.
The court heard Reaveley, 30, and Cruz, 26, were thrown more than 20 metres after a vehicle struck them on the shoulder of the Lougheed Highway on Feb. 19, 2011.
Cruz had been involved in a minor accident and Reaveley had stepped out of another vehicle to help when the women were hit. Both died at the scene.
Just moments before the deadly crash, Reaveley’s friend Kimberley Moore dialed 911 to report Cruz’s accident. The chilling call, which recorded the fatal collision, was played during Sater’s trial Monday.
The court heard Moore crying out after the women were struck, then saying, “Oh, no. No, no.”
“My girlfriend just got run over,” Moore said. “The guy who hit them took off.”
Both the victims’ families and the accused cried as the call was played.
Reaveley’s sister-in-law said the first day of trial was difficult for the family, but they appreciate all the support they have received from the community.
“[It] was very emotional, just reliving the situation and hearing some of the information,” Lisa Reaveley said.
Crown alleges Sater was drunk, and had run up a bar tab including six double rye and co*kes and two Jager bombs the night of the crash.
“A normal person, a sober driver ought to have been able to see the people on the road and the vehicle in the location where it was, facing the wrong way against traffic,” prosecutor Christopher McPherson said.
The Crown’s case is expected to take two weeks and involve 20 witnesses, including a man who was allegedly in Sater’s vehicle and urged him repeatedly to return to the scene.
With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Michele Brunoro
