Driver charged in connection to Merritt pedestrian fatality in March

Nov 8, 2018 | 3:33 PM

MERRITT, B.C. — More than eight months after a fatal car accident left a 92-year-old woman dead in Merritt, the driver behind the accident has been charged.

Cpl. Brock Hedrick with the Merritt RCMP says police responded to a report of a collision on Voght Street and Granite Avenue in Merritt on March 2 of this year.

“An elderly female, 92 years old, was struck while she was crossing the street in a marked crosswalk,” Hedrick says. “The male driver of the pickup truck that was involved, a 67-year-old Merritt resident, remained on scene and was cooperative with police throughout the investigation.”

Hedrick says multiple witnesses were interviewed, and the traffic analyst out of Kamloops assisted with the investigation. Since then, police have produced a report to Crown counsel, which has just sworn a count of drive without due care and attention.

The 67-year-old driver is expected to appear in court next month. Hedrick says the tragic incident is a reminder to keep your attention focused on the road.

“We’re always encouraging people to pay attention and in that particular area — and any downtown core — there’s lots of pedestrians and lots of things that can take our attention away from the road,” Hedrick says. Driving is obviously a job in and of itself so we obviously encourage people to pay attention while they’re driving as a lack of attention can cause a problem such as this.”