Guercy Edmond, Montreal cabbie accused of running over passenger, pleads not guilty
WARNING: Video contains graphic content
A Montreal cab driver accused of running over a passenger has pleaded not guilty to all charges, maintaining that he was trying to escape the scene to report an altercation to police.
Guercy Edmond, 50, was charged with assault with a weapon, dangerous driving causing bodily harm and aggravated assault, after striking a 23-year-old man with his taxi at the corner of St-Laurent Boulevard and Rachel Street in the early morning of April 29, 2012.
The incident was captured on video by witnesses and nearby security cameras.
Edmond showed no emotion as videos of the altercation were played in court earlier today.
On the videos, three men are seen getting out of Edmond's taxi and slamming their fists on the car.
One man then pushes Edmond, who also exited the vehicle. The driver throws a glass juice bottle in their direction.
Edmond gets back in the taxi and starts driving back and forth erratically as the men continue to chase and hit the car. One man, not associated with the passengers, is also seen jumping on the taxi's roof.
Edmond says he was trying to leave the scene and drive to a police station when he struck and drove over one of the men.
Passenger testifies
Benoit Kapelli, who was a passenger in the cab, suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries — including a ruptured spleen and bladder as well as broken ribs. He took the stand this afternoon.
Kapelli said his memory from that night was hazy because of the shock he suffered, and not from the bottle of rum that he and his two friends were drinking.
Kapelli said he couldn't recall the name of the bar where they were drinking nor where they were going by cab, but he said he remembered the altercation erupted when he thought the driver was overcharging them.
"I saw that the meter was already going, so I asked that it be reset," Kapelli told the court.
"I called him a thief and said he was trying to scam us. I was upset. I maybe yelled...I slammed the door and left. That's when I heard a bottle break."
Kapelli said the driver attacked him first, and his friends intervened to try to split up the two men.
"I was pretty scared so I closed the door with my foot. I didn't want [the driver] to get out of the taxi — I didn't know if he had a weapon," Kapelli said.
On the stand, Kapelli denied allegations that he hit Edmond and that he made racist comments in the cab.
The trial is expected to take four days.