Man convicted of drunk driving in fatal crash

Kiel Stewart stared blankly ahead as a Saskatoon provincial court judge found him guilty of nine charges, including two counts of drunk driving causing death, in connection with a fatal crash two years ago near Young, Sask.

In a courtroom so full there was standing room only, some burst into tears when Judge Shannon Metivier said Stewart caused the single-vehicle rollover on Oct. 15, 2016, by speeding around a curve on Highway 2 while his blood-alcohol level was between .166 and .198.

His rear seat passengers — 28-year-old Brett Busse of Watrous and 27-year-old Adam Powell of Hay River, Alta. — were killed. David Mccarthy, the car’s owner, survived but was severely injured.

At trial, Stewart, a labourer from British Columbia, said he initially “felt fine” and agreed to drive when the group left the Watrous bar around 11 a.m., but that he switched places with Mccarthy when he realized he was going 240 km/h.

Metivier rejected his claim that he wasn’t driving at the time of the crash. She said Stewart could have easily slowed down instead of changing drivers, and that it made no sense to ask someone he admitted was more intoxicated than himself to take the wheel.

It’s unlikely Stewart was able to pull over and switch drivers between the time witnesses reported seeing the speeding car, and the time witnesses reported the crash, she ruled.

“The credibility of his evidence on this issue is seriously undermined by the timing of the events, concerns relating to his memory and common sense,” Metivier told the crowded courtroom.

She said while collision re-constructionists couldn’t definitively say who was driving, they didn’t have the benefit of witness reports and video surveillance from the bar that showed Stewart getting into the driver’s seat.

Witnesses reported seeing the car flip three times. On the witness stand, he said he had no memory of the crash.

“It is deeply troubling that Mr. Stewart has significant gaps in his memory, yet is able to testify with surprising detail about exculpatory events, despite having no reason to pay particular attention to them before the accident,” Metivier said.

She convicted Stewart, 30, of two counts each of dangerous driving, impaired driving and driving with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit causing death, and one count of each charge causing bodily harm.

Sentencing has been adjourned until February to accommodate the many victim impact statements the Crown is anticipating.