Driver in fatal Gateway crash disappears
Police surprised injured suspect able to check self out of hospital
An Edmonton police officer said he is surprised and disappointed the injured driver of a Jeep involved in a fatal single-vehicle crash last week discharged himself from hospital and walked away.
The 28-year-old man is now wanted on a Canadawide warrant.
Const. Rick Wevers said Ryan Richard Wilneff was “heavily medicated” when he was admitted to hospital Jan. 22, following a single-vehicle crash on Gateway Boulevard near 61st Avenue that killed a 28-year-old male passenger. Wilneff had not been charged in the incident.
Police were called around 2 a.m. after a yellow Jeep Wrangler plowed through a large billboard, toppled a light standard, mowed through a stand of trees and bushes on a boulevard and then hit the side of a brick building.
Police are not releasing the deceased man’s name or relationship to Wilneff.
Wevers told the media Thursday Wilneff was admitted to hospital with serious injuries, but would not comment on the nature of those injuries.
“In this particular case, he was admitted and had serious injuries so he was not guarded,” Wevers said.
But two days after the crash, on Jan. 24, Wilneff discharged himself and walked away from the hospital. Police are not saying what hospital he had been admitted to.
“It’s obviously very disappointing that he discharged himself, and in a perfect world this doesn’t happen, but there’s really nothing stopping him from getting up and walking away. We were quite surprised that he was able to do so,” Wevers said.
Wilneff, from Nova Scotia, now faces numerous criminal charges, including impaired operation causing death, dangerous driving causing death, possession of a controlled substance and four breach of probation orders.
The severity of the charges led police to expand Wilneff’s warrant for arrest from provincial to Canada-wide.
Police say Wilneff’s whereabouts is unknown and anyone with information is asked to call police.
Wilneff is known to police in Halifax.
In March 2013, Wilneff was one of five suspects arrested in relation to an officer-involved shooting.
He was not involved in the firearms offence, but was arrested on a warrant.
On a November 2012 outstanding-warrant wanted list issued by Halifax Regional Police, Wilneff is listed for breach of conditions.
Wevers said Edmonton police have been in touch with Halifax police.
When asked if the incident might change police procedures when it comes to guarding injured suspects, Wevers said that would be up to others in the force to decide.