Witnesses come forward in fatal Vernon car crash
VERNON – Valuable information has come forward in an impaired driving causing death investigation.
RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says two men who were at the scene of a fatal accident downtown Vernon Oct. 23 contacted the detachment after a call out was posted in the media. At first, the men didn’t think they were the witnesses sought by police. They didn’t see the actual accident, only the aftermath. But that’s still very useful to investigators.
“What it does is it established what they did, who was at the scene, what their observations were,” Molendyk says. “All those pieces of the puzzle come together so we can present our case to Crown counsel.”
A Vernon Jubilee Hospital nurse, 33-year-old Erin Rae Smith, died in the crash. Her co-worker Lindsey Hauck, 31, was also in the car and sustained serious injuries. The 37-year-old driver of the vehicle that struck them is being investigated for impaired driving causing death and impaired driving causing bodily harm.
It could be some time before the police investigation wraps up and the evidence is presented to Crown counsel, who will decide whether or not to lay the criminal charges. Molendyk says investigators are working hard to build a strong case which can prove the offenses beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
“Somebody’s life has changed because of it,” Molendyk says.
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.
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7 responses
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She has and will take responsibility.Anger is no excuse for spreading lies.Her actions however inexcusable does not justify falsehoods and outright lies. One terrible mistake does not make her a terrible person, her action was terrible but not intentional, spreading lies and rumors is an intentional action.
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To clarify my first statement. I heard those things from people who know the person in question. Weather they are true or not I can’t say. I should have been more clear in the first statement.
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Cynthia, Verissa, you two will have to take this somewhere else. We are removing this entire conversation from the page.
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The agenda would be making false accusations in order to make her appear to be a worse person than she is.These are unfounded callous rumors and in no way factual. It would take a truly terrible human being to do and say something like what you state she did.Someone with some kind of premeditation and a cruel heart would do that.This is not the case and these kind of lies just make things much worse for both the accused and the families of the victims. You and others are understandably angry, however to make false claims and make up stories is not ok.
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I have an agenda? What’s my agenda? My agenda is to be able to drive the streets of Vernon without fear of being hit and instantly killed by a drunk driver. Mark that on my and everyone’s agenda!
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This is an absolute fabrication.She is not out drinking at all and has not and would never brag that “they won’t touch her”. Anger causes people to do and say all kinds of things, including making up stories to further one’s own agenda.
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