Eric Robertson, 19, of Armstrong was one of the victims in a March 2013 car crash just south of Vernon.
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October 16, 2015 - 8:00 PM
VERNON - Charges have been dropped against a North Okanagan driver involved in a tragic accident over two years ago.
Crown spokesperson Neil MacKenzie says evidence in the dangerous driving causing death case of Brandon McGregor did not support a conviction. McGregor, 23, from Spallumcheen, was previously scheduled to go on trial Oct. 19 on allegations stemming from a March 2013 crash that left three people dead.
The accident happened when McGregor’s pickup truck crossed the centre line on Highway 97 just south of Vernon and struck an oncoming station wagon. His passenger, 19-year-old Eric Robertson, from Armstrong, died at the scene. The driver of the station wagon, Arthur Allport, 70, from Salmon Arm also died at the scene. His wife Fay Allport, 67, was rushed to hospital but died of her injuries the next day.
“Certainly, it was a tragic outcome, no question about that,” MacKenzie says. “But there was not evidence of any other erratic driving on his (McGregor’s) part prior to the collision.”
MacKenzie says there was also evidence provided to the Crown suggesting McGregor’s driving at the time of the accident was medically related, not criminal.
“Even those collisions that may result in fatalities or serious injury are not always necessarily the result of criminal conduct,” MacKenzie says.
MacKenzie says it was not possible to connect McGregor’s crossing of the centre line with any criminal action and the Crown will no longer be pursuing a conviction. He says the victim’s families were notified of the stay in proceedings.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infonews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015