Paltrow ski accuser was sent ‘flying’

The Hollywood actress has countersued for US$1, saying it was 76-year-old Terry Sanderson who instead collided with her at the lavish Utah ski resort.

Terry Sanderson claims that actor-turned-lifestyle influencer Gwyneth Paltrow was cruising down the slopes so recklessly that they violently collided, leaving him on the ground as she and her entourage continued their descent down Deer Valley Resort.

The retired doctor who is suing Gwyneth Paltrow over a 2016 collision at a Utah ski resort said he heard a “blood-curdling scream” before being hit from behind.

Terry Sanderson, 76, alleges that Paltrow left him with four broken ribs and a brain injury after slamming into him at an exclusive resort in Park City. He is seeking more than US$300,000 (AU$450,000) in damages. Paltrow, 50, has countersued for US$1 and alleges that it was Sanderson who collided with her from behind.

Sanderson, wearing a grey blazer and blue tie, gave evidence yesterday (Monday), saying the incident had left him a recluse.

He described the moments leading up to and following the collision on the beginners’ slopes at the Deer Valley Resort in February 2016: “I just remember everything was great and then I heard something I’ve never heard at a ski resort. And that was a blood- curdling scream.”

Sanderson attempted to recreate the scream before continuing with his story. He said: “And it was like, somebody was out of control and gonna hit a tree and was gonna die. And that’s what I had until I was hit.” Sanderson said the collision was a “serious smack” and that he had “never been hit that hard”.

“And I’m flying,” he told the court. “All I saw was a whole lot of snow. I didn’t see the sky but I was flying. I had no control.”

Shortly afterwards, he said, “everything’s black”. Asked by his lawyer, Kristin VanOrman, if the person who struck him landed on top of him, he said he did not know.

Asked by VanOrman what the last thing he remembered was, he said he felt as if his subconscious was “going into protection mode” and recalled a man was angry at him nearby.

He said he felt afraid but could not move at all. Sanderson said he heard a man accusing him of hitting someone. He had no idea who the man was but felt it was someone trying to bully him into “believing something”.

Terry Sanderson, the Utah man suing Gwyneth Paltrow, leaves the courtroom following her testimony.

Sanderson denied that his lawsuit had been brought in an attempt to exploit Paltrow’s fame and wealth. He said he learnt it was Paltrow who had collided with him from friends. “I’m not into celebrity worship,” he said. Asked if he thought it was “cool” to have collided with a celebrity, he said: “Absolutely not. That is not who I am. No.”

Sanderson was shown a message he had sent to his three daughters telling them about the incident which had the subject line “I’m famous”.

“My head was scrambled,” he said. “All I was trying to do is desperately communicate with my kids before they heard from somebody else I got crushed. I didn’t pick my words well.”

Sanderson listed numerous health problems. He is blind in his right eye and according to court documents he had told a doctor before the incident that he was feeling old. While giving evidence Sanderson said that since the collision: “I’m a different person.” His relationships, including those with his daughters, had suffered.

Asked why he brought the lawsuit, Sanderson said: “My daddy would say, if you got the truth, you bring the truth. Don’t let anybody back you down.”

During cross-examination, Stephen Owens, a lawyer for Paltrow, accused Sanderson of making statements in court that contradicted evidence he had given in an earlier deposition. “I misspeak a lot,” Sanderson replied.

The trial continues.

THE TIMES