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Provincial prosecutor Lorna Mackie said the neighbour had an unobstructed view of Fildebrandt’s red Ford F-150 Lariat pickup backing into her van and driving away, and she identified him as the driver.

“It was not a hurried or fleeting observation,” said commissioner Stewart Douglas in his ruling Monday.

Photo by David Bloom / Postmedia

The neighbour, Amy Rawlinson, took down Fildebrandt’s licence plate the following day when she saw the truck again, Mackie said.

Police charged Fildebrandt under the Alberta Traffic Safety Act for leaving the scene and failing to notify the owner of a damaged vehicle.

“Mr. Fildebrandt, acting upon the belief that he had not been in an accident, had simply not left a note,” Fedorchuk said Monday. “He is convinced his vehicle is not involved in the collision.”

Fildebrandt testified his truck — which he traded in about a month after the alleged collision — had a rear-view camera and sensors that would prevent a crash.

He also asserted that his neighbour may have confused him with someone else, recognizing him as a public figure or from television.

“There is no evidence to support that submission,” Douglas said Monday.

The court case is the latest in a string of controversies for Fildebrandt, who left the United Conservative Party caucus in August to sit as an independent after it was revealed he had rented out his taxpayer-funded apartment on Airbnb and double-dipped on meal expenses.

Premier Rachel Notley said in an interview Monday the result makes her wonder whether the legislature is the place for Fildebrandt.

“Obviously, I’m sure he’s still interested in getting back into the UCP, and we’ll have to see whether Mr. Kenney lets him back in or not,” Notley said.

Fildebrandt also faces two hunting charges after killing a deer on private land. He said he thought he was on Crown lease land, about 255 km southwest of Edmonton. He is scheduled to appear in Didsbury provincial court Feb. 2.

Fedorchuk told reporters he’s representing Fildebrandt in that case as well.

Photo by David_Bloom David Bloom / David Bloom/Postmedia

With files from Emma Graney

cclancy@postmedia.com

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