Gwyneth Paltrow ski collision trial: Witness said the movie star crashed into the man suing her 'very hard' and 'directly in the back'
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- A witness in the trial around a 2016 ski crash involving Gwyneth Paltrow said Paltrow was at fault.
- Retired optometrist Terry Sanderson and Paltrow have sued each other for negligence over the crash.
- Greg James Ramone, a skiing acquaintance of Sanderson's, said Paltrow collided into Sanderson.
An eyewitness who was skiing with the man accusing Gwyneth Paltrow of crashing into him on a Utah mountain testified Tuesday that the movie star bore responsibility for the collision before she skied away.
Paltrow was sued by retired optometrist Terry Sanderson over a 2016 ski collision on a beginner slope at Deer Valley Resort in Utah, which left Sanderson with four broken ribs and a traumatic brain injury. On Tuesday, after opening arguments, a key witness who was in a ski meet-up group with Sanderson and by his side that day said Paltrow crashed into Sanderson.
After Sanderson sued the "Goop" creator in 2019, Paltrow countersued Sanderson for negligence as well, alleging that he crashed into her. The trial is centered around the dueling negligence claims, where Sanderson is seeking $3 million in damages and Paltrow is seeking $1.
On Tuesday, during direct questioning from Sanderson's attorney Lawrence Buhler, Greg James Ramone, a retired glass company owner and acquaintance of Sanderson's who was on the slope with him that day, testified that he saw Paltrow crash into his friend's back that day.
Paltrow, who wore a beige knit turtleneck, was mostly stoic as layers of the story unfolded on Tuesday.
"I heard this scream, I looked over, and then I saw this skier slam into the back of Terry (Sanderson)," Ramon told the court, referring to Paltrow. "Very hard, and she hit him directly in the back."
Ramone said that Sanderson fell face first with his skis split, with Paltrow on top of his back. Eric Christiansen, a Deer Valley ski instructor teaching Paltrow's son, approached them and shouted at Sanderson, who was unresponsive, Ramone testified.
"He was very hostile. Eventually, I told him 'man you need to mellow out here,'" Ramone testified, referring to his interaction with the ski instructor. The instructor yelled "what did you do?" to an unconscious Sanderson, Ramone testified.
Paltrow picked herself up, leaving the scene minutes after the collision, according to Ramone and Sanderson's attorney.
"She just bolts and takes off, she just went straight down," Ramone said. "You never leave an accident, you make sure everyone is okay, you give contact info to each other."
Christiansen and the resort had initially been listed as co-defendants, as Sanderson claimed that the instructor lied in a report where he stated that Sanderson crashed into Paltrow. In 2022, Third District Judge Kent Holmberg dismissed the additional negligence and emotional distress claims against the instructor and ski resort, citing a lack of evidence.
Ramone testified that Sanderson "kept talking about his ribs," after the crash and that he eventually brought Sanderson to ski patrol, and later an on-mountain nurse because he feared for Sanderson's cognitive ability in the moment.
Paltrow's attorney did not immediately return Insider's request for comment. Sanderson's attorney declined to comment.
During cross-examination, Ramone waffled on aspects of his deposition and was grilled by Paltrow's lawyer about the amount of time Paltrow was on the scene after the accidents, and how close of friends he and Sanderson were ahead of the crash.
In particular, Ramone denied knowing the contents of an email Sanderson sent family members hours after the crash titled "I'm Famous." Ramone also denied to Paltrow's attorney Steve Owens that he and Sanderson visited an elk farm together.