Estevan police Chief Paul Ladouceur says it could be a few more weeks before a decision is made on whether to lay charges in the fatal vehicle-pedestrian collision in downtown Estevan more than three months ago.
The police and the crown attorneys have received the collision reconstruction report, and the document is now being discussed to determine the next step for charges.
“I suspect that it will just be a number of weeks before a decision is made on how it will proceed on that investigation,” the police chief said in an interview with the Mercury late last week.
The accident occurred in the 1200 block of Fourth Street on Oct. 6, 2015, and left a 69-year-old woman dead and a 74-year-old man seriously injured. Some in the community have questioned why there haven’t been any charges.
The case was turned over to the Crown shortly after the accident.
But Ladouceur said they’re dealing with some different legislation, including the Traffic Safety Act and the Criminal Code, so it’s not unusual for an investigation to take this long.
There were also two more serious accidents that occurred in Estevan within the next eight days, and there are only so many resources available, so police want to have quality accident reports.
“I would much rather see an investigation take its time, and be meaningful and accurate, than to rush through,” said Ladouceur.
Once a decision is made on whether to charge the motorist, the next step will be to determine whether the charges are traffic or criminal in nature. The criminal charges carry harsher penalties.
