Mountie acquitted on dangerous driving charges

SALMON ARM – A mountie on trial for dangerous driving in relation to the death of a Cherryville woman has been acquitted, according to court documents.

Micah Chan, born in 1977, was charged with one count of dangerous driving after a short chase that ended with the death of 21-year-old Courtenay Eggen. The charge was laid after an investigation by the province’s police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office, which said Chan may have ignored an order to terminate pursuit of Eggen’s car. The Cherryville woman had allegedly failed to stop at a stop sign.

The chase concluded with Eggen’s car crashing into a parked dump truck, and a police cruiser going off the road across the street. Eggen died at the scene.

During the six-day trial in Salmon Arm provincial court, judge Anne Wallace heard evidence that Chan’s top speed was over 150 km/h, but that he was driving exactly as an expert would expect him to. The Crown, however, alleged Chan was speeding excessively and driving dangerously.

According to Eggen’s Facebook page, she attended Charles Bloom Secondary in Lumby, studied at Okanagan College and worked for Total Restoration Services.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infonews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.