A man accused of causing a Highway 33 collision which killed one and severely injured two others in Kelowna in 2018 will stand trial later this month.
Travis Ryan Hennessy is facing one count of dangerous driving causing death and two counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm related to the June 20, 2018 incident which allegedly saw him speed down the Highway at more than 100 kilometres per hour before smashing into a concrete fence.
The crash left a stretch of the highway closed for much of the day. Debris was scattered across the road from the impact.
All four occupants of the vehicle, including Hennessy, were transported to the hospital after the crash. One of the passengers died in hospital from their injuries.
B.C.’s police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office (IIO), investigated the incident to see if police action or inaction led to the crash, releasing a report in January 2019 clearing the RCMP of any wrongdoing.
That report states the officer saw the vehicle quickly turn onto Highway 33, striking a median in the process, before continuing westbound at a high rate of speed, passing the police officer. The officer unsuccessfully attempted to pull the vehicle over.
The officer followed the vehicle, reporting to the IIO that the car went back and forth across the highway at over 110 km/h and eventually veering to the left, over the curb and colliding with a concrete fence. The officer said he saw “people and debris being thrown from the car.”
One civilian witness told police on scene the vehicle nearly hit him, saying he “swerved just in time or else we would’ve probably [had a] head-on collision.”
Dangerous driving causing death has a maximum penalty of 14 years’ imprisonment and no mandatory minimum sentence.
Hennesy’s trial begins Nov. 30 at provincial court in Kelowna. It is expected to take three weeks.
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