Accused in fatal Kamloops hit and run granted bail again

KAMLOOPS – A Kamloops man accused of leaving the scene of a fatal accident that claimed the life of a teenage girl has been released on bail for a second time.

Jason Charles Gourlay, 41, was released from prison yesterday, July 20, on a $20,000 cash bail according to Crown counsel spokesperson Dan McLaughlin.

This is the second time Gourlay has been granted bail this year. He was released from prison for the first time in March with the consent of Crown counsel on a number of strict conditions including residing at a treatment facility on Vancouver Island.

He was arrested for breaching his bail conditions in April and has remained behind bars until yesterday.

Gourlay is facing charges of failing to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in death.

Jennifer Gatey, 16, was walking from her Aberdeen home to a bus stop on Pacific Way when she was hit and killed by a vehicle. It happened the evening of Nov. 4, 2016, just hours before her 17th birthday.

Police attended Gourlay's home days after the incident and seized his Jeep. They remained tight-lipped about details of the investigation until March of this year, when Kamloops RCMP Supt. Brad Mueller held a news conference to announce Gourlay had been charged in connection to the offence.

Police also conducted a search of Gourlay's home in Dufferin which resulted in a charge of drug possession.

Gourlay has elected to face trial by a Supreme Court judge alone and it's scheduled to begin in March of next year.

Get caught up on this case here.

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