Theodor Rother was driving home southbound along 350th Avenue in Oliver, B.C. John Holt was walking northbound along 350th, returning to his home after picking up his mail from the nearby community mailboxes. Mr. Rother suddenly crossed over the highway and struck Mr. Holt, a utiliy pole, overturned and slid to a stop. Mr. Holt was seriously injured in the event.
At trial, Mr. Rother tried to raise the defence of "inevitable accident" to rebut the inference of negligence on his part for the collision. He claimed that dehydration and heart arrythmia led to a fainting spell that caused him to lose control rather than being negligent in the operation of his vehicle.
Mr. Justice Barrow did not accept the rebuttal and found Mr. Rother to be liable for the collision.
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