Mountie partly to blame for collision during police pursuit

An RCMP officer has been found partly responsible for an accident that happened after the Mountie engaged in the pursuit of a vehicle in Surrey.

Const. Peter Leckie has been held 15 per cent liable for a collision that injured a passenger in a van at 96th Avenue and Fraser Highway in August 2010, according to a ruling by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ron Skolrood.

Tarun Roy, the driver of the vehicle being pursued by Leckie, was found 85 per cent to blame in the collision that injured Mean Joo Kweon. The judge concluded that the police pursuit began when Leckie heard Roy rev his engine and then squeal his tires as he entered the intersection on 96th Avenue at 152nd Street.

When Roy passed through the intersection, he accelerated and Leckie accelerated after him, attempting to close the distance.

Roy saw the marked police vehicle behind him and panicked, said the judge.

Turning right onto Fraser Highway from 96th Avenue, the Maxima struck the left side of a 2002 Chevrolet Venture van. Kweon, a UBC student at the time, was a passenger seated behind the driver.

After the collision, Kweon was taken to hospital.

At trial the RCMP argued that there was no causal link between the conduct of Leckie and the accident, but the judge disagreed.

“There was no reason for Mr. Roy to enter that turn at such a speed except for the fact that he was being pursued by Constable Leckie and was engaged in a misguided attempt to escape,” said the judge.

In a ruling posted at the court’s website Monday, the judge awarded Kweon a total of $442,702 in damages.