Kriti Mehrotra
As a documentary living up to its title in every way conceivable, HBO Max’s ‘Gwyneth vs Terry: The Ski Crash Trial’ can only be described as equal parts baffling, engaging, entertaining, and intriguing. That’s because it comprises not just archival court footage but also exclusive interviews to really shine a light upon the way a celebrity and a civilian handled an accident they’ve been involved in. Amongst those to help navigate the same was actually juror number 11, Samantha Imrie — so now, if you simply wish to learn more about her as well as her current standing, we’ve got the details for you.
Who is Samantha Imrie?
It was reportedly in early 2023 when long-time Florida resident turned Utah denizen Samantha got an e-mail declaring it was time for her to do her duty to the nation by heading to jury selection. She obviously complied, yet the only thing running through her mind at the time was worry over it being a murder or a child abuse case since she knew she wouldn’t be able to manage those very well. Never in a million years did she think it would concern actress-turned-lifestyle entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow because she had no idea there was even a rather infamous civil matter filed against her.
“I had no idea what a big case this was going to be,” Samantha candidly expressed in the original production. “Never did I think this was going to be an international televised event that people were interested in… I don’t know how I didn’t hear about the case before. I guess it was just old news at the time, and I found out the details in opening statements.” In other words, she was a perfect juror with no prior information on any aspect of the February 26, 2016, Deer Valley ski incident that led retired optometrist Terry Sanderson to sue Goop’s founder for $300,000 — he claimed she crashed into him while she alleged the opposite.
Samantha honestly went back and forth regarding whom to believe nearly throughout the eight days of testimonies, but what sealed the deal for her was the photographic evidence completely negating Terry’s claims of his life having been forever altered following the clash due to brain damage. “The picture that was painted; this man was unable to travel, unable to function, didn’t have friends,” she said. “Yet he’s traveling the world, it didn’t add up,” especially because every one of those images submitted into evidence was taken from his own then-public Facebook profile.
Samantha, a resident of Park City, a small town with many ski enthusiasts owing to its surrounding environment, also stated in the documentary, “I was ordered not to talk about the case to my family, friends, co-workers, anybody. So, I recorded myself every day just to remember and have somebody to talk to.” That’s when she pulled out her phone and played a video of herself talking of the biomechanical engineering animation of the accident that was presented during the trial, in which she could clearly be heard saying it made Gwyneth’s “odd story” make a lot more sense — so, of course, she (plus all seven of her fellow jurors) voted in her favor.
“I think there was, in the back of my mind, ‘Yes, this woman’s an actress’, and I took that into account, but I didn’t feel she had a reason to lie under oath,” Samantha later said in an interview — following the late March 2023 trial plus verdict. “She’s always in the spotlight, so she always has to be honest. It’s important that the public doesn’t just think that this was a win because Gwyneth’s a celebrity. I mean, this is based on the evidence. This is based on the law… [Terry] was telling his truth, and I think unfortunately, some of that has been distorted due to some other factors, but I do think he did not intend to tell a truth that wasn’t his truth.”
Where is Samantha Imrie Now?
Coming to Samantha’s own personal standing, from what we can tell, this Florida State University – College of Nursing graduate (2009-2014) continues to proudly be based in Park City to this day. She’d actually moved to this area in 2015 after serving as a nurse at the Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville, Florida, just to immediately land a position at the same level at Healthcare Intermountain. It appears as if she holds that job even today, all the while also serving as a Critical Care Registered Nurse at the University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics. She reportedly specialises in critical care, customer service, nursing, as well as trauma in clinics and hospitals alike.
Read More: Terry Sanderson: Where is the Retired Optometrist Now?
