Prison for man who ran truck off road in case of mistaken identity

REGINA On the evening of Aug. 8, 2015, two men were headed south from Arcola on Highway 604 when they were set upon by a half-ton truck that came up behind them.

The truck’s driver, Kyle Lynn Scholpp, was looking for his girlfriend and wrongly believed she was inside the quarter-ton occupied by the two men — neither of whom knew Scholpp or his girlfriend.

“They would become victims of an unprovoked attack solely as a result of Mr. Scholpp’s misguided belief they were accompanied by the object of his search,” Justice Brian Barrington-foote wrote in his recent decision, sentencing Scholpp to 28 months in prison.

The 30-year-old man was found guilty by a jury earlier this year of various charges, including criminal negligence causing bodily harm, hit and run and breach of probation.

Barrington-foote recounted details of the incident that began with Scholpp tailgating and then passing and suddenly applying his brakes. The driver of the quarterton had to swerve around Scholpp’s truck to avoid a collision, then sped up to try to get away from the offending vehicle. Scholpp closed the distance quickly, rear-ending the quarter-ton hard enough to shatter windows.

“(He) then hit the (victims’) vehicle hard from behind a second time, locking on, bumper to bumper, and pushing it down the highway at a speed well in excess of 100 km/h,” Barrington-foote wrote.

The driver of the quarter-ton hit his brakes in what proved a futile attempt to slow their movement. Scholpp continued to push, and finally forced the quarter-ton off the highway and into a ditch where it rolled and came to rest on its roof.

He didn’t stop to check on his victims, instead calling a friend to do it. The driver of the quarterton was knocked unconscious and left dangling from his seatbelt. He awoke shortly after and was freed by his passenger.

While injuries mainly consisted of soft-tissue damage, the passenger’s injuries were such that he was forced to quit his job as a farm labourer.

The driver also had to change jobs as a result and continues to suffer significant back pain.

“He fears driving at night, and finds that he pays inordinate attention to headlights in his rear-view mirror,” Barrington-foote wrote of the driver.

Barrington-foote — noting Scholpp’s lengthy history of driving offences, among other factors — decided a prison term was necessary, to be followed by a two-year driving prohibition.

He fears driving at night, and finds that he pays inordinate attention to headlights in his rear-view mirror.