Former NHL player Rob Ramage bought a six-pack of beer just hours before a fatal car crash that claimed the life of his passenger, NHL alumnus Keith Magnuson, a Newmarket, Ont., court heard Wednesday.

Several hours later in hospital, Ramage gave off a "strong smell of alcohol," Det. Kory Keeping testified.

A police officer examines the rental car allegedly driven by Rob Ramage.
(Saul Porto/Canadian Press)

"I could smell booze on his breath," said Keeping, who was then a constable assigned to Ramage's bedside in the emergency room.

"It was just emanating from him."

Ramage, 48, has pleaded not guilty to five criminal charges in the crash north of Toronto on Dec. 15, 2003, that killed Magnuson, 56, a defenceman who played his entire 11-season NHL career with the Chicago Blackhawks, including a few seasons as team captain.

A Beer Store video surveillance tape played in court Wednesday showed Ramage and Magnuson making a purchase around 11:30 a.m. on the day of the accident.

Beer Store employee Robert Pitoscia testified both men appeared sober at the time, and that he sold Ramage six cans of beer.

"It was Labatt 50," Pitoscia told the court. "Six cans … a six-pack."

Defence lawyer Brian Greenspan told the court he took no issue with the video evidence, conceding it clearly shows Ramage and Magnuson in the store that day.

Ramage, who now lives in St. Louis, where he played six NHL seasons with the Blues, is charged with impaired and dangerous driving causing the death of Magnuson, and impaired and dangerous driving causing bodily harm to Michelle Pacheco, the driver of the vehicle that Ramage's rental car struck head-on.

He is also charged with having a blood alcohol level over the legal limit.

Peter Fairfull, one of the two paramedics who attended to Ramage during the ambulance journey to the hospital, also testified he noticed the smell of alcohol.

"There was an odour in the ambulance of alcohol, what I perceived to be alcohol," Fairfull told court.

Court has heard there was initially some confusion about who was killed when Ramage's car crossed the centre line and slammed into Pacheco's westbound vehicle in Woodbridge, Ont.

Several witnesses have testified that Ramage repeatedly asked about Gary Leeman, who was his teammate when both played with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"He asked me how Gary was and said that he wanted us to help Gary," Fairfull told court.

"I assumed [the fatally injured man] was Mr. Leeman, because that's what Mr. Ramage said."

Another police officer who rode with Ramage to the hospital asked whether he had been drinking, Fairfull testified.

"I remember Mr. Ramage saying he preferred to talk to his lawyer," Fairfull said when asked how Ramage answered, eliciting a visible reaction from several jurors.

During cross-examination, Greenspan asked Fairfull whether he recalled the officer cautioning Ramage after charging him — the Canadian equivalent of reading someone their rights.

"I don't recall that," Fairfull said.

But Greenspan pointed out that if the officer had done so, then Ramage's comments about a lawyer weren't from "out of the blue," but rather came after the officer advised him he was entitled to legal representation.

Fairfull also conceded during cross-examination that Ramage's repeated questioning about Leeman was a possible sign he suffered a concussion.

During his 15-year NHL career as a defenceman, Ramage played for eight teams, winning Stanley Cups with the Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens, and captaining the Blues and Maple Leafs.

The trial continues.