Woman pushed teen twice into C-Train, Crown alleges

Having been pushed herself onto the empty LRT tracks in downtown Calgary, Natalie Pasqua was angry and retaliated by pushing a teenager into an oncoming C-Train, a Crown prosecutor argued Monday.

Pasqua, 26, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Gage Prevost, 17, on Aug. 1, 2007, at the 8th Street S.W. station.

In his opening statements Monday, Crown prosecutor Harold Hagglund told a jury the two were fighting over an alleged drug deal and that Prevost pushed Pasqua onto the LRT tracks.

She climbed back onto the platform and approached the teen, he said.

"You'll hear she said to Gage, 'Do you want to get hit by a train?,'" said Hagglund. He said Pasqua then pushed the teenager with both hands into the oncoming train.

Hagglund said Prevost bounced off the C-Train and Pasqua shoved him again, this time into the gap between two train cars. Prevost died instantly from massive internal injuries.

Defence lawyer Andre Ouellette told reporters outside the courthouse that Prevost's death was an accident.

"She doesn't deny she was there. She doesn't deny that she was involved," said Ouellette of his client. "She denies that she is at fault legally. She says in the context of consensual fight or self-defence that there was an accident, something that she didn't have control [over]."

Ouellette said he believes there isn't enough evidence to convict his client.

"I think that my client is confident that when the facts come out, the jury won't have much choice," he said.

Prevost's family and friends were in court for the first day of the trial.

"They just want to see what happens and get an explanation for what happened and to get justice in this case," said family spokesman Dave Goldsmith.