Woman found not guilty in fatal motorcycle crash

An Edmonton woman who struck a motorcycle, killing the driver and badly injuring the passenger, was found not guilty Monday of making an unsafe left turn.

In a written decision, provincial court Judge Janet Dixon dismissed the Traffic Safety Act charge against Rebecca Rain after ruling she had exercised reasonable care while making the left turn.

Rain, 23, had testified she did not see the approaching motorcycle until the last second and Dixon found there was no evidence which could allow her to conclude why she did not see it.

Dixon also found that Rain was not driving faster than other vehicles turning, she was not impaired and there was no evidence she was distracted. As well, the judge noted the intersection involved had a “peculiar layout” with a less acute turning angle.

“When a collision is inexplicable, that by itself cannot be the basis to find that it could have been avoided by the exercise of reasonable care,” said Dixon. “The factual findings must identify some deficit in care to conclude that the offence could have been avoided. The facts in this case do not support such a deficit.”

Rain was driving along Princess Elizabeth Avenue about 10:30 p.m. on May 21, 2015, when she struck a motorcycle while turning left at the 106 Street intersection.

Terry Fulcher, a 52-year-old chair in NAIT’s construction program, was pinned under the pickup and died in hospital the next day from blunt force injuries. His girlfriend, Teresa Morrison, 52, suffered serious injuries after being thrown from the motorcycle.

An emotional Morrison said she was “stunned, angry and in pain” over the decision. “It’s not right.”

Morrison, who has no recollection of the crash and was in an induced coma for two weeks and suffered fractured facial bones, a broken left arm and a brain injury that resulted in memory problems, said she is planning to sue Rain.

Rain’s father approached Morrison outside court, took her hand and offered his condolences to her on the loss of Fulcher before hugging her and her two children.

Rain testified she never saw the motorcycle and said she made the turn because the only vehicle she did see was a pickup that she thought was half a block away.