Gwyneth Paltrow “slammed” into another skier and then “bolted” down the slope without saying a word, a US court heard on Tuesday.
The Oscar-winning actress is alleged to have collided with Terry Sanderson, leaving him unresponsive at the Deer Valley Resort in Utah in 2016.
Mr Sanderson, a retired optometrist, is suing Paltrow over the incident, with proceedings taking place in Park City, Utah.
During the first day of the trial, jurors heard from Craig Ramon, who was skiing with Mr Sanderson and present in the aftermath of the collision.
Mr Ramon said he had heard a “loud” scream and saw a skier, later identified as Paltrow, crash into Mr Sanderson on the mountain, leaving him “spread-eagled”.
“We were skiing down the run and then I heard this yell, this scream, and then I looked over and … then I see this skier just slam into the back of Terry,” he said.
“She slammed him very hard. She hits him directly in the back, his skis go out and he falls face down, so he’s kind of spread-eagled and Gwyneth is on top of him … and bounces off and slides about five or 10 feet [1.5 to 3 metres].”
Mr Ramon said he was the only person present at the time of the collision and that he had asked both Mr Sanderson and Paltrow if they were all right.
“Terry wasn’t moving, his face was in the snow … his helmet was stuck in the snow. [Paltrow] just looked at me and I asked her again. She got up pretty quick … [but] she never said a word,” he said.
The court heard that a Deer Valley ski instructor, later identified as Eric Christiansen, had arrived soon after the collision and started “yelling” at Mr Sanderson, who was still lying on the ground.
He said that Paltrow had then “bolted” down the hill, with Mr Christiansen telling him “your buddy just took out Gwyneth Paltrow”.
Paltrow appeared in court on Tuesday, wearing a high-necked cream jumper and brown trousers.
In his opening statement, Lawrence Buhler, representing Mr Sanderson, told jurors that the actress’s behaviour on the mountain that day had been “reckless”.
He went on to tell the jury that the actress’s “neglect and conscious choices” had combined together to cause Mr Sanderson “four broken ribs and permanent brain damage”.
After his initial lawsuit seeking $3.1 million was dropped, Mr Sanderson amended the complaint and he is now seeking $300,000.
Stephen Owens, representing Paltrow, said the actress was a “conservative” skier and had been “freaked out” when she had collided with Mr Sanderson.
“You’ll never hear the words hit and run,” he told the court in his own opening remarks.
Paltrow has filed a counterclaim, alleging that Mr Sanderson had hit her and delivered a full “body blow”, and is seeking damages of $1 and legal fees.
Both Paltrow and Mr Sanderson are scheduled to give evidence at the trial, which is set to last eight days.
