`Very short' driver killed after stealing truck had to stand on pedals: ASIRT report

A 27-year-old man killed failing to navigate a turn at high speed in 2018 was “very short” and had to stand on the pedals of the stolen truck he was driving, says a report from the province's police watchdog.

The Alberta Serious Response Team (ASIRT) was called in to investigate Sept. 30, 2018, after an attempted traffic stop by Edmonton city police, said a Tuesday news release. On that day, around 9:49 p.m., two officers saw a Dodge Ram truck use a service road to avoid a red light, said the report released Tuesday by ASIRT.

“The truck then rolled through a stop sign at 90 Street and Jasper Avenue,” continues the report.

The officers tried to stop the truck but it accelerated away from them and drove through a red light.

ASIRT investigators concluded that after the truck went through the red light, the driver “appeared either to lose control or fail to negotiate a left turn onto Alex Taylor Road. As a result, the truck hit a utility pole at that intersection, causing extensive structural damage to the truck.”

The two officers found the driver fatally injured while a 21-year-old passenger had to be extricated from the wreckage by emergency crews.

The stolen truck's event data recorder showed the truck collided with the pole at approximately 104 km/h, said the report.

It was later determined that the truck key had been stolen from a second vehicle parked in the area.

The passenger, who suffered a broken arm in the crash, “indicated that her friend was very short and drove by standing on the pedals ...,” said the report.

ASIRT cleared the officers involved of any wrongdoing.

The report says “responsibility for this single motor vehicle collision rests with the man operating the stolen motor vehicle.”