If he didn't see the victim, what was he looking at? Fine and driving ban for Francis Grosvenor who fatally struck cyclist

Sun Media

ALBERTA - A former city bylaw officer who fatally struck a 77-year-old man riding his bicycle in a crosswalk was today fined $2,000 and banned from driving for three months.

Francis Grosvenor, 33, was convicted of making an unsafe left turn under the Traffic Safety Act relating to the deadly collision at the intersection of 111 Avenue and Groat Road about 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 29, 2008.

“Death always complicates sentencing in any case,” said provincial court Judge Peter Ayotte, who ruled a jail term was not called for, but added a hefty fine must be imposed to “send the message home” that drivers must be sure it is safe to turn at intersections before proceeding.

Ayotte noted that Grosvenor, the night manager for two city hotels, had no prior record and was described as an upstanding citizen.

The judge also pointed out the deceased cyclist had been illegally riding in a crosswalk.

Court heard Sandor Baracskay had been riding his bicycle south in the crosswalk across 111 Avenue when he was hit by a left-turning city bylaw car driven by Grosvenor.

Baracskay died in hospital as a result of his injuries four days later.

At trial, Grosvenor claimed he never saw the cyclist.

“As I was making my turn, I couldn’t see him,” he said. “I didn’t know I hit him until I saw him on my windshield.”

However, the judge rejected Grosvenor’s testimony and accepted the evidence of the two drivers who were directly behind him and also turning left at the intersection.

Those men, an ambulance driver and his supervisor, testified they saw the cyclist in the crosswalk as did a teen who has been skateboarding in a nearby parking lot.

Ayotte also noted Grosvenor had testified it was a turning light, while others said it was a solid green, and he was wrong about who was driving directly behind him.

“In the result, Mr. Grosvenor’s mistake with respect to those two points calls into question just how much attention he was paying at the time,” said Ayotte, Grosvenor had been employed as a city bylaw officer at the time through a contract with Paladin Security.