Text messages place father behind wheel of SUV prior to Calgary fatal crash

When he picked up his daughter and her friend, Michael Shaun Bomford was not only drunk, according to the prosecution, he was also impatient.

On Tuesday, Lisa Bomford testified at the trial of her ex-husband, who is accused of drunk driving causing the fatal 2016 crash that killed his daughter, Meghan.

Lisa read aloud text messages sent between herself and her daughter in the minutes and seconds before the fatal crash.

Michael Shaun Bomford is facing six charges in connection with Meghan's death, including impaired driving causing death and bodily harm, as well as dangerous driving causing death and bodily harm.

He had picked up Meghan and her best friend, Kelsey Nelson, so the girls could get to the police station, needing criminal background checks so that they could become junior ringette coaches.

'One minute and I'm gone'

"It's such an inconvenience he has to drive me and Kelsey to the police station," Meghan texted her mother around 4:45 p.m. on Oct. 18, 2016. 

Meghan had also sent her mother a screen grab of her text conversation with her father just before she got in his Jeep.

"One minute and I'm gone," he'd said to his daughter after arriving to pick her up.

Moments later, Meghan and her friend would be thrown from Bomford's Jeep. Meghan died and her friend suffered a serious brain injury.

Key Crown evidence

That text message placing Bomford behind the wheel is key for prosecutors Scott Wilson and Trevor Fik. Later Tuesday, the trial entered a voir dire, a hearing to determine if texts between Meghan and her mother are admissible as evidence.

A ruling will be made later in the trial by Court of Queen's Bench Justice Kristine Eidsvik.

Meghan Bomford treated her mother like an up-to-the-second diary, constantly sending text messages, including in the moment before the crash.

"She always wants me to know what's going on in her life," said Lisa. 

Bomford was driving with his daughter and her friend on McKnight Boulevard N.E. when he lost control of his Jeep and hit the median. The SUV flipped across the lanes of on-coming traffic and landed on an embankment.

All three people inside the Jeep were ejected.

Bomford smelled like booze

The Crown plans to call evidence showing that Bomford was drunk — with a blood-alcohol limit three times the legal limit — and speeding.

Earlier in the day, prosecutors called several first responders — paramedics and firefighters — who testified they could smell alcohol coming from the father.

Someone on-scene initially coded Bomford as "black," meaning he was believed to be dead. A blanket was put over his body but he was still alive.

Eventually first responders realized the mistake.

• 'We told her she was loved': Witnesses at father's drunk driving trial recall helping save friend

Paramedic Jan Rozak testified he pulled back the grey blanket covering Bomford and was immediately hit with the smell.

"I remember smelling a strong pungent odour of an alcoholic-like substance," said Rozak.

Once he was placed in the ambulance, the smell then filled the space, said Calgary Fire Department member David Campbell.

An accident reconstructionist is expected to testify Bomford was travelling more than 30 km/h above the speed limit when he lost control of the SUV.

It appears defence lawyer James Wyman will argue there isn't enough evidence to prove his client was driving at the time of the crash.