A driver claiming nearly $10,000 in damages for a crash on the Burnaby-Vancouver border torpedoed her own case by submitting her own dashcam video as evidence.
Tamara Pinnock took Zhi Jing to the province’s Civil Resolutions Tribunal over an accident on Oct. 8, 2020 at the intersection of Marine Way and Boundary Road.
At about 11:20 p.m. that day, Pinnock was driving east on Marine Way and turned left to proceed north on Boundary Road.
Jing was driving west on Marine and collided with Pinnock in the intersection.
Pinnock claimed she had had an advance green light and the accident was Jing’s fault because he was speeding and entered the intersection on a red light.
She claimed $5,627 for pain and suffering damages, $3,715.61 for past wage loss, $100 for clothing damage and $25 for out-of-pocket expenses.
Jing, however, said he had had the green light, and Pinnock had turned directly in front of him, giving him no time to react or avoid the collision.
He said Pinnock was fully responsible for the accident.
As evidence, Pinnock produced dashcam video from her vehicle.
She said the footage confirmed she had had a green arrow when she made her turn.
But Civil Resolution Tribunal member Kristin Gardner disagreed.
“As she starts to turn, the footage shows the traffic lights for eastbound through traffic on Marine Way are green,” Gardner said in a ruling Monday. “At the very bottom of the screen is a light lower down, which I find is the left turn light for eastbound traffic turning left onto Boundary Road. This was Ms. Pinnock’s light, and the footage shows that left turn light is red."
Just as the footage shows that red light, the dashcam's sound indicates the crash, according to Gardner, and Pinnock’s vehicle spins to her left.
“When the vehicle comes to rest, the footage is pointed directly at the traffic lights for westbound traffic on Marine Way, which are green. Those were Mr. Jing’s lights,” Gardner said.
She noted that a traffic light sequencing report from the City of Vancouver showed it was impossible for the left turn light for eastbound traffic on Marine Way to be green at the same time as the lights for westbound traffic going straight on Marine Way.
In other words, if Jing had a green light, then Pinnock had a red light and vice versa.
Gardner dismissed Pinnock’s case and ordered her to pay $25 in tribunal fees.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
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