Mountie pleads guilty, fined in pursuit death
A White Rock RCMP officer who was criminally charged in connection with a fatal 2011 hit-and-run crash has pleaded guilty to a driving offence and been fined $1,200.
Const. David Bickle was scheduled to go on trial in B.C. Supreme Court next week for dangerous driving causing bodily harm, but on Friday he pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention in provincial court in Surrey.
On May 18, 2011, Bickle was on duty and tried to pull over a vehicle just before 10 p.m. on Marine Drive in White Rock. The driver, Kyle Danyliuk, refused to stop and Bickle allegedly continued to pursue him.
Danyliuk collided with two vehicles and then ran a red light on Johnston Road, hitting 56-year-old Marilyn Laursen in a crosswalk. Danyliuk kept driving and Laursen died from her injuries.
Danyliuk pleaded guilty in February 2012 to four charges and was sentenced to two years less a day in jail followed by three years of probation.
Six months later, Bickle was charged with dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm following a Vancouver police investigation.
It was alleged that Bickle’s actions and failure to follow federal and provincial guidelines about pursuit driving contributed to Laursen’s death and the injury of another driver.
A preliminary inquiry was held in February 2014 and the charge of dangerous driving causing death was stayed. Bickle was ordered to stand trial on the charge of dangerous driving causing bodily harm, which related to injuries suffered by the driver of one of the cars Danyliuk struck as he fled.
According to court records, Bickle must pay his fine, plus a $180 victim surcharge, by June 15.