One year after a vehicle collision with a snow plow claimed the life of an eight-year-old Nelson boy near Castlegar, the B.C. Prosecution Service has announced that it will not be approving any charges related to the crash.
A Dec. 8 statement issued by BCPS provides details of the complex incident, which took place on Dec. 7, 2024 near the Paulson Summit on Highway 3 and involved multiple vehicles as well as the striking of a pedestrian.
The boy and his brother were travelling in the back seat of a green Kia SUV that was driven by their 44-year-old stepfather.
On that day, road conditions included snow, slush, black ice and limited visibility due to falling snow.
At around 8 a.m., the operator of a snowplow was travelling east towards Castlegar, laying sand on the road, when he came upon a GMC Sierra truck in the ditch.
A Honda Civic was parked on the eastbound shoulder, partially blocking the snowplow’s travel path, and its driver had exited the vehicle to check on the truck’s occupants.
The snowplow stopped alongside the Civic, partially over the centre line, and activated its emergency lights with the front plow blade in the up position.
At the same time, the Kia approached the scene and made attempts to stop, including pumping the brakes. When unable to do so, the driver attempted to navigate between the other vehicles.
The Kia collided with the snowplow and then continued out of control and also struck the 57-year-old driver of the Civic. At the time of the incident, the pedestrian’s injuries were considered to be “life altering.”
The eight-year-old boy was killed while his brother and stepfather suffered minor injuries and the driver of the snowplow was uninjured.
The BCPS concluded that the accident occurred as the result of a confluence of factors, including the sudden change in road conditions, and unusual and unexpected hazards on both shoulders as well as the snowplow stopped on the highway.
There was “insufficient evidence that the Kia driver was driving in a manner that demonstrated inadvertent negligence, was excessively fast relative to road conditions, or lacked the due care and attention of a reasonable driver.”