Adding to a string of two previous serious accidents, all in the same week, a single motor vehicle collision has left one person dead and another in hospital, in Regina. A vehicle was travelling down Fourth Avenue on the evening of Oct. 14, on its way into the city, when it left the roadway, colliding with a tree in an adjacent field.
As a result of the collision, one passenger, David Price, was immediately transported to hospital in Regina, where he was later pronounced dead. A second passenger was later transported to a hospital in Regina with serious injuries.
Alcohol was a factor in the incident, and the driver of the vehicle, Karry Biette, has been arrested. Biette has been charged with impaired driving causing death, impaired driving causing bodily harm, dangerous operation causing death, dangerous operation causing bodily harm and criminal negligence causing death.
“The biggest thing to emphasize is that in two of these incidents in the past week, alcohol was a factor,” said Estevan Police Chief Paul Ladouceur, during a media conference in response to the recent increase in traffic incidents. “We’ve said time and time again, on the internet or in public speaking events, how drinking and driving can lead to catastrophic consequences, and now we’re seeing it.
“These things are a 100 per cent preventable, and it’s everybody’s responsibility, not just the police’s, to keep the community safe.”
In response to the incident, members of the Estevan Police Service (EPS) have now implemented a zero-tolerance policy for impaired driving within the city. The policy will entail strict enforcement of traffic rules.
Ladouceur noted that there will be an increase in stop checks and all-around police presence in the city, in what he calls “blitzes,” done in conjunction with Combined Traffic Services (CTS), which includes the RCMP and Weyburn Police Service.
“When it comes to getting stopped and pulled over, if you’re driving in the city, prepare to be stopped more often. We have a duty to ensure safety within the community,” said Ladouceur. “I can’t stress enough that driving is a privilege. There’s no reason whatsoever for a driver to hop in a car drunk, and if someone is arrested or charged as a result of these incidents, they need to realize it’s their
own doing.”
Ladouceur urged everyone on the road to be conscientious and aware when driving on a daily basis. He advised the public refrain from texting and driving, and to avoid following emergency vehicles to get a glimpse of what happens in emergency situations, since both have been identified as local problems that pose significant risks, and in the case of the latter, it hampers emergency service response times.
Inspector Murray Cowan with the EPS said while there have been severe traffic incidents in Estevan before, three incidents in the span of a week is unprecedented.
“Off the top of my head, in the 20 years I’ve been here, I can’t recall that happening,” said Cowan. “This is something we have to be stepping up to, with zero tolerance. Without a doubt, that has to be the way we go about this, enforcing it very strictly.”
Cowan referenced the fact that southeast Saskatchewan in particular has been identified by analysts with the provincial government as an area that has a problematically high level of impaired driving occurrences.
“It’s disturbing when you work in a community like this and live in a community like this, and see things like this happening over and over,” said Cowan.
