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Retired doctor suing Gwyneth Paltrow over ski crash tells court of ‘blood-curdling scream’

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Retired optometrist Terry Sanderson took the stand Monday morning where he recreated the ‘blood-curdling scream’ he claims he heard just before Gwyneth Paltrow allegedly slammed into him on the ski slope. 

Sanderson, 76, is suing the actress over a 2016 ski collision that left him with a permanent brain injury. 

On the stand Monday, he told his account of how Paltrow allegedly hit him, despite him seeing ‘no one’ in the ‘wide open’ area as he began making his way down the ski slope – past several signs that read ‘Slow Down’.

Mimicking the sound, he said: ‘Everything was great and than I heard a bloodcurdling scream. Then boom! It was like somebody was out of control, was going to hit a tree and going to die.’

Paltrow arrived alone for the fifth day of her ski crash trial on Monday without her two children Apple, 18, and Moses, 16, who are expected to take the stand today. 

Retired optometrist Terry Sanderson took the stand Monday where he recreated the ‘blood-curdling scream’ he claims he heard just before Gwyneth Paltrow allegedly slammed into him 

Gwyneth Paltrow, whose penchant for stealth-luxe court attire made headlines last week, was wearing her trademark olive green coat and mirrored $278 Ray-Ban aviators as she arrived for the latest installment of her epic court battle with Terry Sanderson

Gwyneth Paltrow, whose penchant for stealth-luxe court attire made headlines last week, was wearing her trademark olive green coat and mirrored $278 Ray-Ban aviators as she arrived for the latest installment of her epic court battle with Terry Sanderson

Paltrow, who arrived at Park City District Court on Monday morning, claims Sanderson collided with her leaving her ‘sore’ and angrily screaming ‘you skied directly into my f***ing back’

Paltrow, who arrived at Park City District Court on Monday morning, claims Sanderson collided with her leaving her ‘sore’ and angrily screaming ‘you skied directly into my f***ing back’

But Sanderson, pictured arriving at Park City District Court Monday wearing a face mask, claims Paltrow slammed into him while he was skiing leaving him with permanent injuries

But Sanderson, pictured arriving at Park City District Court Monday wearing a face mask, claims Paltrow slammed into him while he was skiing leaving him with permanent injuries

Sanderson took the stand Monday morning and he told his account of how Paltrow allegedly hit him, despite him seeing ‘no one’ in the ‘wide open’ area as he made his way down the slope

Sanderson took the stand Monday morning and he told his account of how Paltrow allegedly hit him, despite him seeing ‘no one’ in the ‘wide open’ area as he made his way down the slope

Sanderson claims Paltrow slammed into him while he was skiing on a green run located on Deer Valley’s Flagstaff Mountain.

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Paltrow says the opposite happened: he collided with her leaving her ‘sore’ and angrily screaming ‘you skied directly into my f***ing back’ at the septuagenarian.

Paltrow, whose penchant for stealth-luxe court attire made headlines last week, was wearing her trademark olive green coat and mirrored $278 Ray-Ban aviators as she arrived for the latest installment of her epic court battle with Sanderson.

While waiting in the lobby for court to begin, she peeled off her coat to reveal a pleated black midi skirt, a white blouse and her now-trademark $1,200 Celine boots.

Sanderson was the second witness to take the stand on Monday morning as the trial entered its second week. 

He told court he hadn’t been in the room for most of last week because he wanted his daughters to be able to speak freely and without worrying they might upset him.

The retiree said he is an experienced skier who had skied two to three times a week before the accident and had never been involved in another crash.

He said he had been skiing at Deer Valley for the first time on the day of the ski smash – telling jurors he had been there as part of a Meet Up group.

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Sanderson said he had chosen to ski down the right side of the run to avoid the crowded areas in the middle, noting he had also chosen the spot due to the lack of sight in his right eye.

Sanderson added: ‘I got hit in my back so hard, it felt like it was perfectly centered. Serious, serious smack. And I’m flying. I’m absolutely flying. All I saw was a whole load of snow.’

Just prior to Sanderson taking the stand, the day unexpectedly began with more testimony from his star witness, Craig Ramone, 48, who was the first witness to testify last week. 

The day unexpectedly began with more testimony from Sanderson’s witness, Craig Ramone

The day unexpectedly began with more testimony from Sanderson’s witness, Craig Ramone

He was in court to confirm the authenticity of a Facebook post that gave a contemporaneous account of what happened on the day of the crash

He was in court to confirm the authenticity of a Facebook post that gave a contemporaneous account of what happened on the day of the crash

In another post, he wrote that Terry had a 'bad hit to the head' and 'was knocked out cold'

In another post, he wrote that Terry had a ‘bad hit to the head’ and ‘was knocked out cold’

He was in court to confirm the authenticity of a Facebook post – until now only referenced in an email between Sanderson and his daughters – that gave a contemporaneous account of what happened on the day of the crash.

The post was provided to the defense on Friday by a viewer of the televised part of the court case who had unearthed the post from an online archive.

Ramone was asked to confirm that he had indeed written a series of posts on the group Meet Up chat referring to the crash in the days after the incident.

One of the posts read: ‘You could not make this up. Gwyneth took out Terry last week. Last Saturday, her son broke his arm skiing at Park City. Gwyneth was staying at the Montage. She took her plane out of Millionaire Airport. What makes me mad is Gwyneth took out Terry and then took off. ‘

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Paltrow takes her seat at the defense table with her signature blue folder

Paltrow takes her seat at the defense table with her signature blue folder 

Sanderson, who is in court today, is due to take the stand before the defense gets underway

Sanderson, who is in court today, is due to take the stand before the defense gets underway

Gwyneth Paltrow's kids Apple, 18, and Moses, 16, are expected to testify today in the actress' $300,000 civil lawsuit over 2016 ski crash which left Utah optometrist with a brain injuries

Gwyneth Paltrow’s kids Apple, 18, and Moses, 16, are expected to testify today in the actress’ $300,000 civil lawsuit over 2016 ski crash which left Utah optometrist with a brain injuries

One read: ‘Terry was not doing the man thing, he had a bad hit to the head. You do not get taken down the hill by Ski Patrol if you were hit on the ass.’

He then became involved in an argument with a man named Scott who made light of the crash, writing:

‘Scott, the thing you did not see was Terry was knocked out cold. I did see the hit. Terry did not know his name. I asked him and he did not know.’

He added: ‘Scott, thanks for the humor. You’re trying to make light of it. You guys did not see what I did see.’

Ramon completed the chat by noting that Paltrow had been the one to crash into Sanderson.

Last week, jurors heard Paltrow’s account of the crash – including that she initially thought she was being sexually assaulted by Sanderson.

Last week, jurors heard Paltrow’s account of the crash – including that she initially thought she was being sexually assaulted by Sanderson

Last week, jurors heard Paltrow’s account of the crash – including that she initially thought she was being sexually assaulted by Sanderson

Terry Sanderson, the Utah man suing Paltrow, leaves the courtroom following her testimony, Friday in Park City, Utah. He accuses her of crashing into him at Deer Valley Resort in 2016

Terry Sanderson, the Utah man suing Paltrow, leaves the courtroom following her testimony, Friday in Park City, Utah. He accuses her of crashing into him at Deer Valley Resort in 2016

The actress said she heard Sanderson making a ‘groaning noise’ as they collided and initially thought she was being assaulted by someone ‘perverted’.

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She said: ‘He was making some strange noises that sounded male and he was large so I assumed he was a male.

‘I was confused at first because it’s a very strange thing to happen on a ski slope. I got very upset a few seconds later.

‘There was a body pressing against me and he was making a groaning noise. I didn’t know, is this a practical joke or is someone doing something perverted?’

Paltrow denied she had been watching son Moses ski at the time of the crash but was tripped up by testimony from her son’s instructor Kari Oaks.

Conceding the point, she said: ‘I can still watch my children ski and be skied directly into my back by someone and that’s what happened.

‘My daughter was down the hill and my son was to my left, I was skiing and my eyes were not just on Moses.’

The accident occurred on Utah's Bandana Mountain in 2016. The ski run where the accident took place was shown in court last week

The accident occurred on Utah’s Bandana Mountain in 2016. The ski run where the accident took place was shown in court last week

Paltrow in a social media post the year before the accident at Deer Valley resort in Utah. She captioned the post: '20 years later and I still got it #justlikeridingabike'

Paltrow in a social media post the year before the accident at Deer Valley resort in Utah. She captioned the post: ’20 years later and I still got it #justlikeridingabike’

At the start of the trial last week, the court had heard from Sanderson’s lead attorney Laurence Buhler who described the actress as ‘callous and reckless’ in his opening speech.

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Paltrow’s lawyer Stephen Owens then responded by describing the retiree’s claims as ‘complete B.S’ before attempting to pick holes in his case as a succession of medical experts testified that Sanderson does have a brain injury and it was caused by the crash.

Florida-based neurologist Dr. Richard Boehme also told court that Paltrow caused the crash – telling jurors that her version of events is inconsistent with the four broken ribs Sanderson was left with following the February 2016 crash.

His daughters Shae Herath, 52, and Polly Grasham, 49, also spoke in court – detailing the dramatic personality changes their father had allegedly suffered due to his head injury.

Both women became tearful during their testimony and described how Sanderson is now unable to complete the simplest tasks and is easily confused.

Shae said: ‘My dad has quite a few personality issues, the injury to his brain has caused significant damage – enough to cause personality changes.

‘My dad is very insecure, he doesn’t show it but he doesn’t trust his brain anymore. He used to be able to multitask and do all sorts of tasks and now he can’t follow through.

‘As his daughter, I feel that his life is exhausting.’

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Sanderson is suing Paltrow for more than $300,000, claiming she skied recklessly into him from behind, breaking four of his ribs and head trauma that post-accident manifested as post-concussion syndrome.

Paltrow has countersued for $1 and attorney fees, alleging that Sanderson was at fault and veered into her from behind.

Though the courtroom in Park City, Utah, was far from full throughout the first week of the trial, the case has emerged as the most closely watched celebrity trial since Johnny Depp took Amber Heard to court almost a year ago in Virginia. 

Clips of attorney outbursts and Paltrow’s Friday testimony have been cut and circulated widely on social media, while observers have debated the motivations on both sides to sustain the prolonged legal battle seven years after the collision.

Source: Daily Mail

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