Man found guilty of crash near Lillooet that led to passenger's extensive injuries | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Man found guilty of crash near Lillooet that led to passenger's extensive injuries

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KAMLOOPS - It's been nearly three years since a woman suffered extensive injuries after being ejected from a vehicle and wrapped in barbed wire fence, now the man responsible for the crash has been convicted.

Gary Travis Harry was driving himself and his passenger Marlee Duncan from Pavilion toward Lillooet the morning of July 7, 2015, according to a written decision by Supreme Court Justice Len Marchand.

Harry and Duncan were on Highway 99, heading to get a prescription refilled, driving at or below the speed limit until the vehicle caught up to a logging truck on the highway, the decision stated, and a car was behind them by this point.

The car didn't pass Harry, and he testified he felt pressured by the car so he passed the logging truck when it was safe to do so. After passing the truck, Harry said he saw the car directly behind them and it appeared to be braking. Harry thought he was going to be rear-ended and to avoid a crash he "gunned it".

He was travelling fast down a hill and into a left hand corner, and was in the oncoming lane as he took the corner.

"Mr. Harry testified that he was 'on a collision course' with an oncoming vehicle so turned to the right to avoid a collision," Marchand said in the decision. "His vehicle began going sideways towards a concrete median barrier on the west side of the highway."

Harry corrected to the left to avoid slamming into the barrier but ended up in the ditch.

The driver of the car behind Harry, Andrew Law, and his pregnant partner, Ana Galac both testified they pulled behind Hrry’s SUV after passing a slow-moving vehicle.

The couple described Harry's vehicle as moving slowly and said after a couple of seconds of following the vehicle, it suddenly gained speed.

Marchand said the couple testified they were following Harry's vehicle at a safe distance, but he concluded otherwise, noting that the man testified he was on the vehicle's bumper. Marchand said he believed Law was tailgating Harry.

Shortly after the crash, the couple came upon the accident scene to offer assistance. Law found Harry in the back of the SUV, conscious and very concerned about Duncan. Law told Harry there was no passenger and helped him out of the vehicle.

According to the decision, Law quickly realized a passenger must have been ejected and he helped Harry search for the passenger. The two found Duncan hung up in a barbed wire fence on the side of the highway and it was obvious she was badly injured.

An RCMP accident reconstruction expert said information from the vehicle showed speeds of up to 176 kilometres per hour were reached before the incident.

Harry admitted he was driving well above the speed limit but denied driving that fast.

Duncan had several injuries including extensive scalp lacerations, a fractured vertebra, fractured ribs, pelvic fractures, tibia and fibula fractures, a left shoulder and left collar bone fracture, and "extensive gluteal flap degloving" which means the skin covering the gluteus maximus muscle was completely torn off from the underlying tissue, severing its blood supply.

Marchand concluded that Harry had been driving dangerously and caused Duncan bodily harm, finding him guilty of the charge. 


To contact a reporter for this story, email Ashley Legassic or call 250-319-7494 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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