PARK CITY, Utah — The man suing Gwyneth Paltrow over a 2016 skiing collision at one of the most upscale resorts in North America took the stand Monday, saying he was rammed into from behind and sent “absolutely flying.”
The trial in Utah hinges on who crashed into who. Paltrow testified days earlier that Terry Sanderson, a retired 76-year-old optometrist, veered into her back gently. He says the opposite: The collision broke four ribs and caused post-concussion symptoms that changed his personality and strained his family relationships.
But beyond questions of skiing etiquette, Paltrow’s attorneys have argued the lawsuit is an attempt by an “obsessed” man to exploit the actor-turned-lifestyle influencer’s wealth and celebrity.
Sanderson is suing Paltrow for more than $300,000 and Paltrow has countersued for $1 and attorney fees. The amount of money at stake for both sides pales in comparison to the typical legal costs of a multiyear lawsuit, private security detail and expert-witness-heavy trial.
On Monday, Sanderson recalled a screaming woman skiing into him and hitting him between the shoulder blades with her fists and poles as he tried to shield his head.
“All I saw was a whole lot of snow. And I didn’t see the sky, but I was flying,” Sanderson said, calling it “a serious smack.”
Sanderson said he remembered a man in a Deer Valley Resort ski suit come up afterward and instead of offering help, angrily blaming him for the collision.
The hourlong testimony at times brought Sanderson to tears, particularly when he appeared not to be able to focus or remember things — in a way that dovetailed his legal team’s claim that the crash permanently damaged his brain. They have also argued it hurt relationships with his loved ones, including his daughters.
“Something’s wrong in my essence and what I bring to the table with them” since the crash, Sanderson said.
The jury in Park City, Utah, has been presented back-to-back victim narratives….
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