Jury at murder-terror trial sees video of truck that struck Muslim family in London, Ont.

Warning: This story contains distressing details:

Data from a Dodge Ram pickup truck driven by Nathaniel Veltman on the day in 2021 that members of a London, Ont., Muslim family were stuck shows him veering to the right five seconds before impact, his gas pedal 100 per cent compressed, court heard Monday.

On the first day of testimony at the 22-year-old's murder trial in Windsor, Crown prosecutors called three witnesses and laid out the evidence they'll present to the judge and jury in Ontario Superior Court. 

Veltman is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder as well as associated terror charges after the June 6, 2021, vehicle attack on the Afzaal family. He has pleaded not guilty.

Yumnah Afzaal, 15, her parents Madiha Salman, 44, and Salman Afzaal, 46, and family matriarch Talat Afzaal, 74, were killed. A nine-year-old boy survived.

In opening statements, prosecutor Sarah Shaikh told the jury that the defendant went to work on June 6, 2021, in Strathroy. Two weeks earlier, he had purchased a Dodge Ram truck, court heard.

He went home to his bachelor apartment in downtown London and "left before 8 p.m. with a specific purpose in mind: to find Muslims to kill," Shaikh said. 

"He sped up, aiming to strike the family. You will hear him say, in his own words, he was driving 'pedal to the metal,'" she said. 

Jurors also heard that the accused told police he was inspired by others with similar political views, he wanted to inspire others, and police found two versions of a document, titled "A White Awakening," on his computer.

Throughout the day, several agreed statements of fact were read out — evidence the Crown and defence agree on that won't have to be argued before the jury. They include: 

Also not in dispute is that the family lived in London and were on their way back from a local park when they were struck. 

"Three generations of a family were out for a walk — a grandmother, a father, a mother and two children. They went to a park near their home and this would be their last walk together," Shaikh said as part of the Crown's opening statements. 

"Why did he do this? You'll hear him in his own words," Shaikh said, referring to the accused. "He made two statements to detectives after he surrendered and you will hear both of those statements. You'll hear him say that he did it on purpose ... he said he did it because they were Muslim."  

On the day of the incident, the two women in the family were wearing traditional Pakistani clothing, she added.