Doha Madani is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News. Pronouns: she/her.
Diana Dasrath contributed .
Gwyneth Paltrow was called to the witness stand Friday in a civil suit filed against her, where she disputed allegations that she caused an accident at Utah’s Deer Valley Resort in 2016 that left a man seriously injured.
Terry Sanderson, 76, who is seeking $300,000 from Paltrow, says she slammed into him from behind in a ski collision that left him with a concussion, brain injury and four broken ribs, according to an initial lawsuit filing. But Paltrow alleges that it was actually Sanderson at fault and that he is exploiting her wealth.
Paltrow and Sanderson both dispute who hit whom and who was farther up the hill at the time of the crash. Deer Valley’s website says the person ahead or downhill has the right of way.
Paltrow was called to the stand Friday by Sanderson’s attorneys, after the jury heard from Sanderson's daughters, an eyewitness and medical experts.
Sanderson's acquaintance, Craig Ramon, who was at the resort with him as part of a meetup group appears to be the only eyewitness to the accident. He testified Tuesday that he was roughly 35 feet uphill from Sanderson at the time of the accident.
Ramon said he heard a scream and within a few seconds, saw Paltrow slam into Sanderson from behind. He stopped beside them after seeing them both fall to the ground, saying Paltrow stood back up but Sanderson was facedown in the snow for about two minutes.
Paltrow did not speak to them, Ramon said, leaving about four minutes after the accident without identifying herself or asking if Sanderson was alright or needed medical attention.
Ramon denied assertions from Paltrow's attorneys that a ski patrol member came by the scene of the accident, and told the court he flagged ski patrol after he and Sanderson attempted to continue to ski downhill. Sanderson was clearly "not OK," so Ramon said he asked for help to get Sanderson to the resort's nurse's station.
Paltrow's attorneys are expected to take up her defense next week, after Sanderson's attorneys rest their case.
