A Bonavista Bay man who tried to blame a fatal car crash on his passenger who was killed has been convicted on four drunk driving charges.
Travis Firmage and Calvin Tobin were headed east on the TCH near Clarenville when their Hyundai Sonata collided with a transport truck.
It happened around 10:30 p.m. on August 1, 2017. Both men were drinking beer, with one witness saying he saw two open cases and bottles everywhere in the mangled car.
Tobin, a 25-year-old fisherman from Southern Harbour, died hours later in hospital. Firmage, now 35, faced four charges including impaired causing death and impaired causing bodily harm for the injured truck driver.
The defence argued Tobin was suicidal and steered the car into the path of the big rig on purpose. They also questioned the integrity of blood samples from Firmage.
But Judge Paul Noble dismissed both theories, saying there was no medical evidence that Tobin was suicidal, and accepting that Firmage was more than twice the legal limit.
In fact, Firmage admitted drinking a half dozen beer in the hours leading up to the crash, including one just minutes before impact.
It all left the judge wondering why he didn’t fight for control of the wheel, or at least hit the brakes.
A date for sentencing has not been set.