Filip Grkovski denies he was driving the ill-fated motor boat that crashed into rocks off Outer Harbour Marina on Lake Ontario simply earlier than midnight on Might 31, 2022, ensuing within the deaths of two passengers onboard.
“Who was driving the boat when the accident occurred?” requested defence lawyer Alan Gold. Grkovski replied, “Eddie,” referring to his pal Edward Denkha who has already testified as a Crown witness at trial.
The 41-year-old Mississauga man is on trial for eight counts together with two counts of every impaired operation and prison negligence inflicting dying.
Grkovski mentioned he co-owned the 30-foot Doral 300 and mentioned he was captain of the boat that day. He mentioned he trusted his pal to take the boat into the marina after a day and night spent ingesting whereas tied up with 4 to 5 different boats close to the Toronto Islands.
Grkovski mentioned he had 4 to 5 drinks that afternoon however mentioned he stopped ingesting round 8 p.m. and had not consumed cocaine that day however a day and a half earlier than. He additionally denied there was any cocaine on the boat.
He instructed courtroom that he backed out of the tie-up round 11:15 p.m. and was on the helm till the boat approached the Cabana pool bar when he requested Denkha to take management.
Grkovski defined a pal of his girlfriend Vanessa got here upstairs from the cabin under deck and instructed him Vanessa needed to speak to him. Different passengers have testified Grkovski and his girlfriend had been arguing all through the boat journey however Grkovski denied that they had been nonetheless arguing.
Grkovski mentioned Denkha took over the wheel close to the Cabana Bar and he went downstairs shortly earlier than coming again up as they had been approaching the channel between the internal harbour and the outer harbour. Grkovski mentioned when he got here again up, he didn’t take again the helm however began speaking to Denkha concerning the boat as a result of he was occupied with shopping for it.
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“He’s driving, I’m standing beside him and explaining gauges, gasoline, buttons. He goes, ‘I do know, I’ve the same-sized boat,’” he testified.
“Then, he will increase the pace. I turned proper and seemed on the women. Andrea and Kristina had been sitting there. I turned again. I mentioned, ‘You may’t drive quick right here. That is the harbour, plus there’s a police station,’” recalled Grkovski.
“He mentioned, ‘I do know, I do know,’” added Grkovski, who mentioned he identified to Denkha the place the large crimson gentle is near the mouth of the channel.
Defence lawyer Alan Gold requested, “What occurs there?” Grkovski answered, “I instructed him, ‘On the gentle, make a left and then you definately see that large white gentle, that’s our marina.’ He goes, ‘I do know, I do know.’”
Grkovski mentioned he then went again downstairs.
“Now, I’m not working the boat. He’s tremendous. He is aware of the place to go. I’m not the captain anymore,” he defined. “I’m going downstairs. I sit down on the desk and I proceed speaking to Vanessa. Zaynab comes down, says, ‘I’m feeling nauseous. He’s driving quick. He’s making waves’ and she or he sits down.”
Gold requested him what occurred subsequent.
“I’m going upstairs. As I’m going up, I’m turning round and increase, there was no time to react,” he mentioned, saying that’s when the boat crashed. Gold requested Grkovski if he had been upstairs, whether or not he would have allowed him to drive quick. Grkovski mentioned he wouldn’t have.
Gold then requested if the boat ought to have been close to the rocks. Grkovski replied that it mustn’t, explaining that he had pushed that path many instances and mentioned Denkha mustn’t have been close to the rocks.
He additionally testified that there have been 11 lifejackets on board and mentioned it wasn’t customary for individuals to put on lifejackets, and mentioned passengers knew the place they had been positioned. “I instructed everybody to take off their sneakers and put them the place the lifejackets had been,” Grkovski defined.
Throughout cross-examination, assistant Crown legal professional Jackson Foreman steered that Grkovski left the tie-up late as a result of he was impaired and needed to sober up.
“You heard the toxicologist testified that your blood alcohol content material (BAC) was 85-159. I’m going to recommend you had greater than 4 to 5 drinks. Is it potential you had been mistaken?”
Foreman steered that Grkovski had extra to drink than regular and was doing cocaine as a result of he was preventing with Vanessa.
Denkha has already testified that Grkovski requested him to take the wheel simply earlier than the crash however he refused. He instructed courtroom Grkovski went under deck and when he got here up, Denkha testified Grkovski seemed actually offended.
“He floored the boat. I mentioned, ‘Decelerate, the entrance of the boat is lifting up. It’s essential decelerate,’ and two minutes later, that was the crash.”
Foreman steered to Grkovski that he was upset as a result of he had been preventing with Vanessa and that he was distracted and never taking note of the water.
Initially, Grkovski agreed with Foreman that because the captain, he was answerable for the security of the passengers on his boat, however later replied when requested once more, “I’m unsure.”
“Would you a minimum of agree that it was not accountable so that you can drink the quantity of alcohol you probably did whereas within the care and management of that vessel?” requested Foreman. “I’m unsure,” replied Grkovski.
“I’m going to recommend you possible wouldn’t have given Eddie management of the boat in these circumstances had you been sober,” Foreman mentioned.
Grkovski instructed courtroom he didn’t suppose Denkha had something to drink regardless of the actual fact he earlier testified that Denkha introduced two bottles of vodka to the boat. Foreman steered that Grkovski was downplaying how a lot Denkha drank that day.
“Because the captain, that was criminally negligent. Simply listening to that, does that change your reply as to the place you had been on the time of the crash?” Foreman requested Grkovski.
“For my part, giving the boat to Eddie was criminally negligent,” Foreman concluded.
Megan Wu, 24, and 36-year-old Julio Abrantes drowned after they had been trapped beneath the overturned vessel.
Closing submissions will likely be heard on Wednesday.
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