Delta motorcyclist impaired before crash with Mountie
Coroner's report says actions of both drivers contributed to crash
Last Updated: Tuesday, March 23, 2010 | 1:23 PM PT
CBC News
A coroner's report says the actions of both drivers contributed to the crash. (CBC) A Delta, B.C., motorcyclist killed in a collision with an RCMP officer's Jeep two years ago was impaired and speeding at the time of the crash, a coroner's investigation has determined.
The actions of both drivers, Orion Glenn Hutchinson, 21, and RCMP officer Cpl. Benjamin (Monty) Robinson, played a role in the collision, a report by the B.C. Coroners Service concluded.
Hutchinson was likely killed almost immediately by injuries he suffered when his motorcycle slammed into a Jeep driven by Robinson on a street in the community of Delta, south of Vancouver, on Oct. 26, 2008, the report said.
Speed, alcohol blamed
Coroner Mark Coleman concluded that speed and alcohol on Hutchinson's part were also contributing factors to the accident.
Motorcyclist Orion Hutchinson was killed in the collision with the Jeep.
(Family photo) The motorcyclist had an alcohol level above the legal limit and was travelling between 66 km/h and 96 km/h when the collision occurred, Coleman concluded.
Robinson was making a left-hand turn and moving between 24 km/h and 29 km/h at the time of the crash, the coroner said.
"Speed and alcohol intoxication on the part of Mr. Hutchinson were contributing factors. Alcohol intoxication on the part of the driver of the Jeep is also believed to be contributing factor," concluded Coleman in the one-page report.
"I classify this death as accidental and make no recommendations."
Officer charged
Robinson, who was off-duty at the time of the collision, identified himself to witnesses before leaving the crash site with his two children to take them to his nearby home.
RCMP Cpl. Benjamin Robinson was charged with obstruction of justice following the crash.
(CBC) He later testified that he had two shots of vodka before returning to the crash scene and failing a Breathalyzer test.
Delta police recommended a charge of impaired driving against Robinson, but the Crown decided not to proceed. Instead, he was charged in December 2009 with attempting to obstruct justice. The case is still before the courts.
Robinson was suspended with pay following the crash.
He was also the most senior of the four Mounties involved in the Taser death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver airport in October 2007.
Share Tools
Latest British Columbia News Headlines
- Half of First Nations children live in poverty
- Half of status First Nations children in Canada live in poverty, a troubling figure that jumps to nearly two-thirds in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, says a newly released report. more »
- B.C. teacher duct-taped students' mouths
- The B.C. Teacher Regulation Branch has reprimanded a Vancouver teacher after she duct-taped her students' mouths in an effort to keep them quiet. more »
- Canadian border agents being impersonated in phone scam
- The Canada Border Services Agency is warning Canadians of a possible phone scam and fraud. more »
- Wearing a mask at a riot becomes a crime today
- The bill that bans the wearing of masks or disguises during a riot or unlawful assembly is scheduled to become law today when it gets royal assent. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- Neil Macdonald: Washington's obsession with leakers
- Julian Assange and Edward Snowden are just the most prominent targets in an all-out legal and propaganda campaign that America's security apparatus is mounting against leakers everywhere, Neil Macdonald writes. more »
- 30,000 Canadians are homeless every night
- A new national report into homelessness in this country tells a grim story — at least 200,000 Canadians experience homelessness in any given year and least 30,000 Canadians are homeless on any given night. more »
- Who's who in the Senate expense controversy
- Keeping track of the names popping up in the ongoing Senate expenses controversy — from the investigators to the four senators themselves — could be a difficult task for even the most seasoned political observers. more »
- How open is Ottawa's new 'open data' website?
- Treasury Board President Tony Clement is touting the federal government's revamped data portal as a "new natural resource." But that online window for previously published data arrives at the same time the government faces controversy over just how open it really is. more »
- Police probe death of woman, 27, in Kelowna home
- Hundreds attend 'Change Brazil' protest in Vancouver
- Parents of son 'brutally beaten' playing hockey want charges
- Failed condo pre-sale deal costs Vancouver buyer $750K
- Police probe Mohinder graffiti in East Vancouver
- Cross Canada bike stolen from B.C. senior
- Vancouver airport CEO takes aim at cross-border travellers
- The class photo that made a father cry
- Prison guard files murder trauma claim
