No charges in deadly Carberry crash

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This article was published 27/06/2024 (683 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — A senior Crown prosecutor and Manitoba RCMP officials have painstakingly laid out the circumstances of the highway crash near Carberry that killed 17 seniors one year ago, as they explained why the evidence doesn’t support charges being laid against the bus driver.

At a lengthy news conference Wednesday at RCMP headquarters in Winnipeg, Crown prosecutor Chris Vanderhooft and RCMP Supt. Rob Lasson said no criminal charges or Highway Traffic Act charges would be laid against the driver. The now-62-year-old man suffered a traumatic brain injury in the crash on the morning of June 15, 2023, as the group travelled to a casino south of Carberry from their homes in and around Dauphin.

“As investigators, we hope to provide the ‘why’ of what happened, and that is why we do what we do. In this case, we cannot say why the bus proceeded into the intersection that day when it was unsafe to do so,” said Lasson, who oversees Manitoba RCMP major crime services.

Vanderhooft and Lasson, as well as major crimes Staff Sgt. Sean Grunewald, who commanded the investigation, and Sgt. Janna Amirault, who was the primary investigator, provided details about the evidence gathered by Mounties and the legal considerations the Crown’s office made. The judicial decision-making process is typically kept behind closed doors in Manitoba.

Vanderhooft said it is believed, based on expert reports, that a blind spot on the vehicle prevented the driver from seeing the tractor-trailer that collided with the bus as it crossed the Trans-Canada Highway while heading south on Highway 5.

“It is apparent from all of the evidence that the driver, due to the blind spots in that vehicle and when he may have looked in that direction, did not see the semi-truck travelling eastbound,” Vanderhooft said.

“He did not hit the brakes, nor did he speed up to avoid the oncoming semi-truck.”

Lasson said the collision happened because of a choice by the driver, but investigators cannot prove that choice was the result of anything criminal.

Lasson said some evidence was “unattainable” because of the driver’s medical condition and the fact key witnesses — most of the 24 passengers — were killed.

He said investigators have been unable to speak to the driver and do not anticipate being able to speak to him. He has no memory of the crash and requires assisted living because of his brain injury.

“He is not in a position to make his own decision regarding his personal care or finances, and his condition is unlikely to improve,” Vanderhooft said.

The driver’s cellphone showed no calls or text messages incoming or outgoing at the time of the crash, though he had contacted his dispatcher minutes beforehand. Medical tests showed no evidence of impairment by alcohol or drugs. He had the proper licence for the vehicle.

“One witness on the bus said that the bus driver was on his cellphone prior to the collision,” Vanderhooft said. “RCMP investigators obtained search warrants for the phone and determined the phone was not in use at the time of the collision.”

The bus had been in operation by Quality Care Transit of Dauphin for a month and had no mechanical defects, the prosecutor said.

The bus crossed the westbound lanes of the Trans-Canada 10.5 seconds before the collision, as the semi-truck headed eastbound 318 metres west of the impact location.

The driver passed the yield sign in the centre median about 3.5 seconds before the impact, as the truck was about 100 metres west.

The driver crossed the solid yellow line onto the eastbound lanes, directly in front of the tractor-trailer, about two seconds before the collision. The semi was about 52 metres west, still obscured by the blind spot.

The tractor-trailer smashed into the bus, which landed in a ditch and caught fire.

The truck driver was taken to hospital and soon released. Vanderhooft said he had the clear right of way, wasn’t speeding and tried to avoid the collision.

The Crown considered charging the bus driver with dangerous driving, but Vanderhooft said prosecutors wouldn’t be able to prove an apparent moment of inattention was a marked departure from the standard of care of a reasonable driver in the circumstances.

“Momentary inattention does not constitute dangerous driving,” he said.

“The act of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle is driving in a manner dangerous to the public in all of the circumstances. The focus must be on the risks created by the driver’s manner of driving and not on the consequences of the driving.”

Vanderhooft said there would be no reasonable likelihood of conviction if criminal charges or a Highway Traffic Act offence of proceeding when unsafe were to be laid.

Prosecutors also consider the public interest when deciding whether to pursue charges.

“While the Crown is certainly aware of the consequences of this mass casualty and the tragedy that families have had and continue to deal with, there is no public interest in proceeding,” Vanderhooft said.

Lasson said he is confident investigators gathered and recovered all available evidence.

He said officers conducted “countless” hours of interviews, examined evidence and expert reports, reviewed dash-cam footage from the tractor-trailer and followed up on every investigative avenue.

The RCMP investigation was sent to the Crown’s office in January for an opinion on whether charges should be laid. Vanderhooft said his decision not to lay charges crystallized over the past several weeks.

The investigative file was reviewed by other prosecutors on the Crown’s driving offences committee and upper management.

Vanderhooft then discussed the decision with RCMP to determine how to meet with the families of the victims. Lasson said the decision not to pursue charges was shared with them in Dauphin on Tuesday.

» Winnipeg Free Press, with files from Chris Kitching