Katie DeRosa, B.C. (Postmedia News) – An external investigation has found no fault on the part of a RCMP officer involved in a crash that resulted in the death of Duncan mother of three.
Patti Daniel, 30, died in hospital June 21, five days after her car was rear-ended by a speeding RCMP cruiser on its way to an emergency call.
Saanich police handled the investigation into the crash, which concluded that while Daniel pulled over for the first of three police cruisers heading north on the Trans-Canada Highway, she moved back into the right-hand lane into the path of the second cruiser, which had its lights flashing and siren blaring.
The impact caused Daniel’s 1997 Chevrolet Lumina to roll onto its roof, trapping Daniel and her passenger inside.
The officer involved in the crash and other Mounties rushed to pull the two from the wreckage until firefighters and B.C. Ambulance paramedics arrived, Saanich police spokesman Sgt. Dean Jantzen said.
The second cruiser was travelling at 99 kilometres an hour in an 80 km/h zone when it struck Daniel’s vehicle near Beverly Street, Jantzen said.
The speed was in accordance with emergency vehicle guidelines, he said.
The rookie officer, who had been with the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP for nine months, will not be disciplined or face criminal charges, Jantzen said.
Saanich crash investigators conducted six separate re-enactments of the incident, interviewed all the people involved and reviewed video surveillance from a nearby business that showed all cruisers had their lights and sirens going as they sped along the highway, Jantzen said.
“Our investigators believe this was an unavoidable collision.”
Police still do not know why Daniel did not see the police vehicles coming up behind her and would not say what the passenger told them. The names of the passenger and officer were not released.
Island district RCMP spokesman Cpl. Darren Lagan said the incident, which happened at 10 p.m. June 16, has traumatized the rookie officer.
“He certainly will be haunted by this for the rest of his life,” Lagan said.
Duncan city councillor Joe Thorne knew Daniel, and expressed his sadness at the incident.
“Nobody wins,” he said. “We have to make changes so this doesn’t happen to someone else.”
Thorne said he doesn’t blame anyone for the incident, but would like to see changes in RCMP procedures, and in limiting blind spots in vehicles.
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