FILE PHOTO.

(BEN BULMER / iNFOnews.ca)

A North Okanagan woman who appeared in court ready to plead guilty for injuring another driver when she rear-ended them while drunk is now on the run after she took off just before the proceedings.

On July 2, Roblyn Lindsay Syvania Hyde promptly left the Vernon courthouse after a process server handed her civil court documents notifying her that she was being sued by the injured driver.

The processor server had been trying to find Hyde since late last year.

Hyde, who’s in her mid-40s, had been waiting patiently at the Vernon courthouse for her criminal proceedings to begin.

However, having being served the civil documents she took off.

While it's commonplace for accused individuals not to show up to court, those who do normally await their fate.

One lawyer commented that they’d never seen an accused party show up but then run off.

Hyde was scheduled to plead guilty to charges related to a drunk driving crash that took place in December 2022. 

According to a Notice of Claim, Hyde rear-ended Donald Joseph Buchan near the junction of Highway 97 and Highway 97A north of Vernon.

Buchan’s vehicle was stopped on the highway when Hyde struck his vehicle from behind.

There no mention in the court documents of what speed Hyde was driving, but the incident caused facial lacerations, and pain and injury to Buchan’s neck, shoulders and hip.

Hyde was later charged with drunk driving and two counts of impaired operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm.

It’s not known which charges she was going to plead guilty to, but after she bolted, the judge issued an arrest warrant.

According to the Notice of Claim, Buchan suffered a concussion and has problems with his memory, concentration, dizziness and balance. He also lists soft tissue injury and pain, headaches, chronic pain, sleep disturbance, and emotional and psychological injuries.

"The injuries have caused and continue to cause (Buchan) pain, suffering, discomfort, loss of enjoyment of life, permanent physical disability, and loss of earnings, both past and prospective," the court document said.

The Notice of Claim was filed last fall, and said Hyde's occupation and address were unknown.

The suit was also filed against Stephen James Hubbard, whose Kia Sport SUV Hyde was driving at the time. However, the court document said Hubbard died in February 2024, a few months after the incident.

Hyde has been convicted of drunk driving before and in 2007 was fined $1,000 and banned from driving for one year.

None of the criminal charges or civil allegations have been proven in court.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 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.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.

News from © iNFOnews, 2025