An Alberta man has been found liable for a freak runaway snowmobile accident in British Columbia in which the unmanned vehicle drove the length of nine football fields before crashing into its owner's friend, causing "horrific" injuries. 
 
 Devon Webb and Angelo Passerin, both from Whitecourt, Alta., were on vacation riding through the Renshaw area near McBride, B.C., on March 22, 2013. 
 
 Webb's sister, Sarah, was also on the trip. According to a B.C. Supreme Court judgment, Passerin stopped to help Sarah after she got stuck on a side hill. 
 
 The Renshaw area of McBride is popular among snowmobilers from B.C. and Alberta. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press) 
 
 Passerin shut off his snowmobile, took a look around and started walking toward Webb. 
 
 He made it about three metres before Devon Webb's runaway snowmobile came flying at him, seemingly out of nowhere. 
 
 The judgment said neither he nor Sarah Webb heard it coming and that warning shouts from friends had not a "hope in hell" of being heard, either. 
 
 'Freak accident' 
 
 Devon Webb, riding at half speed "some distance" behind his sister and Passerin, had lost control of his snowmobile after running into an unexpected snowdrift. 
 
 He was thrown over the handlebars, but the snowmobile kept going without him. 
 
 The judgment said it flew over a 30-metre cliff, into a snowy ravine and back out the other side. It continued racing at "full throttle" for up to 1,500 metres before it crashed into Passerin and came to a stop. 
 
 The remains of Passerin's snowmobile after it was hit by Webb's runaway vehicle. Passerin told the court he never heard the snowmobile coming. (Angelo Passerin) 
 
 Passerin's lawyer, Frank Scordo, said the combination of events and unfortunate timing is almost unbelievable. 
 
 "It's a very freak accident, there's no doubt about it," he said. 
 
 In a notice of civil claim, Passerin sought damages for a number of physical injuries including a traumatic brain injury, fractured vertebrae, broken leg bones, scarring, numbness and a permanent limp. 
 
 He also sued for loss of enjoyment of life and loss of of future earning capacity. 
 
 Altogether, the lawsuit's list of Passerin's claimed losses is more than 30 bullet points long. 
 
 Safety cord wasn't attached 
 
 Devon Webb's snowmobile, a 2012 Ski Doo 800, was outfitted with a number of safety features including a tether cord. 
 
 Tether cords are attached to a snowmobile's cap, which acts as a key, and then fastened to a rider's clothes. If the rider falls off, the cord should yank the cap out of the snowmobile, cutting the ignition. 
 
 Webb was an experienced rider who kept his snowmobile maintained and knew about the safety features. However, the judge found that Webb didn't have his tether cord attached when he was thrown from the vehicle. 
 
 A tether cord, pictured here on the same snowmobile model Webb had, is a safety function that is supposed cut the ignition in runaway scenario. The cord is attached to the key and the rider's clothing, so the key is pulled out when the rider falls. (Submitted on behalf of Angelo Passerin) 
 
 Failing to wear the cord means he breached the standard of care he owed Passerin, so Webb was found liable. 
 
 Scordo said the ruling is likely a first in B.C. 
 
 "We weren't able to find any cases dealing with tether cords not being connected," the lawyer said. 
 
 Passerin is entitled to costs, but his lawyer said it will be complicated to figure out just how much. 
 
 The runaway snowmobile wasn't insured and Passerin only had coverage in Alberta. He and his lawyer will have to prove his losses in that province in order to settle on a number. 
 
 "It's a process, but he's going to be entitled to significant damages … they're horrific injuries," said Scordo. 
 
 "Rather than giving a number, that'll give a good basis for the damages that this man suffered." 

 Judgment Not Found 
 
 If you were attempting to open a recent judgment, then our system might still be in the process of updating the judgment document to our external servers. 
 
 
 
 If you were trying to open any other judgment, please contact our Website Coordinator 
 
 To return to the Recent Judgments list, please click on either of the following: 

 Man found liable for runaway snowmobile crash near McBride 
 
 Image Credit: ADOBE STOCK 
 
 March 03, 2018 - 2:00 PM 
 
 MCBRIDE - A man has won his case in court after being seriously injured when a runaway snowmobile crashed into him in the McBride area nearly five years ago. 
 
 On March 21, 2013, Angelo Passerin, Devon Webb, and approximately eight other people headed to McBride to snowmobile the next day. Webb's sister Sarah and father Dave were also there. 
 
 Webb was an experienced snowmobiler, according to a written decision by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Dev Dley. He added that the group drank and socialized when they arrived that night. 
 
 The next morning they headed north of McBride to snowmobile the Mount Renshaw area. They paid for their trail passes and headed up a groomed logging road, stopping about halfway to have a beer. 
 
 "Several in the group, including Mr. Passerin had a beer," Dley said in his decision. "Mr. Webb was not interested in drinking – he had come to snowmobile." 
 
 After a morning of snowmobiling, the whole group gathered for lunch, where several people drank beer and Passerin drank vodka and cranberry juice from a miniature water bottle. Webb didn't consume any alcohol, Dley said. 
 
 After lunch the group headed back out and Webb tried to find a route into some lower bowls that would be accommodating for the less experienced riders in their group. Passerin was a distance away. 
 
 About 15 minutes after lunch Passerin saw Sarah Webb standing on her snowmobile and waving at him. Her machine was stuck in some deep snow. 
 
 Passerin walked toward Sarah to help her, but after walking about 10 feet he was struck by Webb's snowmobile. Neither Sarah nor Passerin heard it coming, Dley said. 
 
 Webb had been going uphill at half throttle when he encountered a snowdrift. He applied the brakes and his snowmobile pitched forward and down, tossing him off. The rider-less snowmobile went over a 100-foot cliff, climbed out of a 20-foot powdered ravine and raced at full throttle for one to one-and-a-half kilometres until it struck Passerin, Dley said. 
 
 It finally stopped after colliding with Sarah Webb’s nearby machine. 
 
 A co-worker of Webb's was a distance away for Sarah and Passerin, and saw the unmanned snowmobile coming toward the pair. He tried to get their attention but his shouts were not heard. 
 
 The group tended to Passerin until he was airlifted away approximately three to four hours later. 
 
 There were several safety functions on Webb's snowmobile, including a tether that would stop the machine if the rider fell off, a kill switch, and a spring on the throttle to stop the machine within 10 feet if pressure was completely taken off of it, Dley said. 
 
 Dley did not believe that Webb had attached the tether cord to himself that day. 
 
 "Overall, Mr. Webb was an unreliable witness," Dley said. "His testimony was fraught with contradictions on material points. His testimony was so unreliable that I cannot accept his assertion that he had attached the tether cord to his clothing." 
 
 Warnings that had been on the snowmobile when Webb first got it reminded riders to check the safety features before each trip. According to the decision, Webb testified that he did not check the throttle or the safety cord after lunch. 
 
 "In coming to my conclusion that Mr. Webb did not have the tether cord properly affixed to his clothing at the time of the fall, I have rejected Mr. Webb’s assertions that he was wearing the cord properly," Dley said. "I accept the evidence, that if the tether cord had been affixed to Mr. Webb’s clothing, his fall from the machine would have likely caused the cap to pull off the post, thereby shutting off the engine. I have also drawn an inference from Mr. Webb’s failure to do the safety checks after lunch, as an indication that he did not have much regard for safety measures." 
 
 Webb argued that if he was found liable for the crash, Passerin should be found just as liable considering he had drank the night before and during lunch. 
 
 "The mere fact that a person has been drinking does not automatically result in the assumption that impairment is the natural result," Dley said. "There is no evidence to establish that Mr. Passerin was impaired in any way. I cannot conclude that the limited consumption of alcohol affected Mr. Passerin’s ability to react, observe or avoid the collision." 
 
 Although it's not clear how much, Dley ruled that Passerin is entitled to costs. 
 
 To contact a reporter for this story, email Ashley Legassic or call 250-319-7494 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. 
 
 We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
– A fun day snowmobiling in British Columbia left one man with "horrific" injuries and another liable for them after he was thrown off his snowmobile and the vehicle kept going, slamming into one of his companions. InfoTel News reports that Devon Webb, Angelo Passerin, and about eight others were snowmobiling after lunch in McBride on March 22, 2013, when Webb's sister, Sarah, became stuck in the snow, per a lawsuit filed by Passerin. Passerin saw her waving for help and went to assist, when suddenly a riderless snowmobile came out of nowhere and struck him down. It turned out Devon Webb had been thrown from his snowmobile, which then "traveled over a 100-foot cliff, climbed out of a 20-foot powdered ravine, and raced at full throttle for [0.6 to 0.9 miles] until it struck Mr. Passerin," the suit notes. It only stopped after slamming into Sarah Webb's snowmobile. The crash left Passerin with broken leg bones and vertebrae, a brain injury, and a limp now with him for life, the CBC reports. Webb was found liable because he wasn't wearing the tethered safety cord that should be hooked to each rider's clothing; if the rider falls off, the cord, attached to a cap on the snowmobile, yanks off the cap, which shuts the vehicle off. Supreme Court Justice Dev Dley found Webb had neglected to put his tether on, bucking precautions that would've kept his friend safe. Although Webb tried to argue that Passerin had been drinking—the latter had a vodka cranberry with his lunch, while Webb had consumed no alcohol—the judge found "no evidence" Passerin was impaired to the point where he could've avoided being hit by the runaway snowmobile. Both Passerin and Sarah Webb said they hadn't heard the snowmobile coming.