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MOTORCYCLE CRASH

IIO says Kamloops RCMP did nothing wrong in motorcycle crash

Mar 12, 2020 | 2:11 PM

KAMLOOPS — The province’s police watchdog has determined there was no wrongdoing by Kamloops RCMP officers in connection to a Sept. 3 motorcycle crash in Westsyde.

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. (IIO) says in a report that they began investigating the crash in September 2019.

The agency spoke to four civilian witnesses and one police witness, along with the affected person (AP).

AP told IIO investigators, according to the report, that he was riding a motorcycle southbound on Westsyde Road travelling at roughly 70 kilometres per hours. He remembered seeing a black pick-up truck and said the next thing he remembered was waking up in hospital.

He said he had no memory of having noticed a police officer or police vehicle at any point.

The driver of the pick-up told the IIO that the motorcyclist crashed into the left rear-corner of his truck, and estimated that AP was travelling at about 90 to 100 kilometres per hour.

The pick-up driver said he heard a police siren and saw a police vehicle about five seconds after the crash, and that the officer arrived on scene 10 seconds after the impact.

Two other witnesses reported the motorcyclist was travelling at roughly 90 to 100 kilometres per hour, while another said she judged his speed as “too fast”.

AP had a broken wrist and pelvis socket, a concussion and a ruptured spleen.

The IIO says AP’s injuries “were caused solely by his own actions, and there is no evidence the officer committed any offence.”

Witnesses described the officer as driving in a normal manner.

The IIO says the matter will not be referred to Crown counsel.