Daryl Wiebe was acquitted of a driving without due care charge last week, after and accident that took two lives.
(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
March 06, 2014 - 3:48 PM
KAMLOOPS — A Kamloops Provincial Court judge says a man who caused an accident killing two people near Spences Bridge two years ago did all he could to avoid it.
In a decision posted online last week, Judge Stella Frame acquitted Daryl Wiebe of Kersley, B.C. on a charge of driving without due care and attention.
Wiebe was carrying a load of hay on Highway 1 toward Chilliwack on May 7, 2012 when he lost his load and overturned his vehicle on a tight curve just as three vehicles approached. Two people died in the aftermath.
Evidence showed Wiebe was travelling at a safe speed considering the turn, his load, and his vehicle. Police determined he had just 2.3 seconds to react.
“The average reaction time of a human being is 2.5 seconds,” Frame said. “There was nothing he could do.”
Frame dispelled several issues in her decision—he wasn’t distracted by a cell phone and his load was checked and secure. She said it was simply an accident that the load shifted.
“Wiebe had taken every precaution to ensure the load was properly strapped down and secured,” Frame said.
“This accident had a tremendously tragic outcome where two men lost their lives and two families lost their loved ones,” Frame said. “Mr. Wiebe is deeply affected by this tragedy.”
To contact a reporter for this story, email Cavelle Layes at clayes@infotelnews.ca or call 250-319-7494.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014