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s economist sunltriburie courts thursday 6ci26zdoo by lisa queen staff writer the skull fracture that put ayork region teen in a coma 15 months ago wasmost likely caused by a fall on to a hard sur face rather than an assault a forensic pathologist testified yes- terday dr james ferris said he is confident that a punch did not cause the depressed fracture suffered by the 15yearold on june 29 1999 whilea kick could have caused the injury ferris said a vic tim would most certainly have suffered lacerations and bruis ing to theskui surrounding the wound while there was minor bruising on the teens head ferris said the connundrum of this case is explaining the lack of visible external injuries around the wound ferris said the lack of lacerations and bruising points more jo the injury being caused by a fall on a hard flat surface than by a beating the minor bruising on the teens head could have been caused if the irnpact surface had an uneven texture such as gravel of rough concrete ferris was the first defence witness in the trial of three youths charged with aggravated assault in connection with the teens beating j- the youths have pleaded not guilty under the young offenders act the accused the victim and witnesses cannot be identified two friends of the victim testified last week that the three buddies agreed to saythe teen suffered his injuries after falling while walking in a park v v t it was only after the teen fell into a deep coma that the mends said they had lied- j- instead they said thevictim had been beaten by a group of older youths who believed the teen wrote racist slurs oh the walls of a park washroom j according to evidence presented in court during ttielast three weeks five youths jumped into a car and chased the teen less than a blotk from the park they saw the boy who gave the youthsthe finger they jumped out of the car and caught up with the teen s between two houses f witnesses said one of the accused suckerpunched the teen three times s another youth kicked the boy as he lay in the fetal position with his arms protecting his head however witnesses said the youths foot struck the dirt before making contact with the victim s dr peter dirks a neurosurgeon who testified on the crowns behalf said the victims injuries were consistent with the beating he suffered but ferris disagreed x i think the most likely cause of this injury is a fell im rea sonably confident its not the result of a punch said ferris adding the assailants fist would have sustained extensive damage to exert enough force to cause the injury however under cross examinationferris agreed it is not impossible for a punch to have caused the injury s- clearly a kick could cause this injury- but thejack of- damage to the surrounding skin makes itunlikely ferris said there is no clinical evidence to directly tie the skull fracture to ah assault strictly speaking there isnt a link he said i suppose you could speculate they are linked but there isnt a chain it isnt that the chain is broken it doesnt exist v r aju 1 tst j 1 financial services 1 stouffville office 905642507 deposit rates thebest choice is here mortgages 1yr6w 1yr- 690 3 yr 605 5 yr 700 5 yr 630 s rates subject to change without notice farm vresh bakesh0raf mcintosh empire mutsu red delicious russet spy golden delicious apples 3000 oder wagon rides straw bales farm animals mazes great family fun and entertainment rl -vr-v- ft y7v call toll free 1 8004611468 sunderland wmsmpm nsurancyomimny 1 1 i 1 i ml 1 4 til l