A man charged in relation to a 2016 fatal crash in Mission that killed a teenage Langley girl failed to show up in court for the second time.
Jacob Ross Blanthorne, 23, of Langley was scheduled to appear last Thursday in Abbotsford provincial court but didn’t turn up. His next appearance is set for May 10 and, if he doesn’t show up again, a warrant for his arrest will be considered.
Blanthorne was previously charged with dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
The crash in the early morning of March 5, 2016 on Burma Road in Mission claimed the life of Lidia Ramos, 15, of Langley.
Police at the time said it appeared that the driver lost control on the slick turns as he and three others were coming back from a bonfire party off a logging road during a heavy rainstorm.
The 1999 Nissan Sentra slid 15 feet down an embankment and came to rest on its passenger side with the roof against a tree, police said at the time.
Ramos, who was in the backseat of the vehicle, died at the scene. The 16-year-old Langley boy sitting beside her was critically injured, but survived.
The driver and the front-seat passenger, a 19-year-old from Surrey, were taken to hospital with upper-body injuries and were released.
Mission RCMP said at the time that speed was believed to be a factor in the crash.
Ramos, a Grade 10 Brookswood Secondary student, was one of six children in her family, and a GoFundMe account was organized to help ease the family’s financial burden after her death.
She would have celebrated her 16th birthday within days of the crash.
Blanthorne was charged earlier this year but failed to make his first appearance on Feb. 5, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Court records indicate that he made an appearance on March 8, at which time he was next scheduled to appear last Thursday.
– with files from
Monique Tamminga
