The province’s police watchdog is recommending charges against a B.C. Highway Patrol officer who crashed into a civilian in Okanagan Falls in 2022.
On July 10, 2022 at 7 p.m. the officer was responding to an unrelated incident when they crashed into a civilian pickup truck at the intersection of Maple Street and 10th Avenue.
The driver and passenger of the pickup were both injured in the collision and transported to a hospital for treatment. One was described as having serious but non-life-threatening injuries at the time.
READ MORE: B.C. police watchdog investigates Okanagan Falls car crash that injures 2
The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) launched into an investigation following the crash, and on Tuesday, April 18 completed their work.
The IIO’s chief civilian director Ronald J. MacDonald, King’s counsel, found that there was reasonable grounds to believe the officer may have committed a driving offence.
The report and evidence has been forwarded on to the BC Prosecution Service to decide whether to formally lay charges.
In order to approve any charges, the BC Prosecution Service must be satisfied that there is a substantial likelihood of conviction based on the evidence gathered by the IIO, and that prosecution be required in the public interest.
While the matter is with Crown, the IIO will not be making any additional comment about the facts of this case.
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