‘The law does not lightly brand someone as a criminal,’ said the defence
Driving for longer than federal legislation allows didn’t make the actions of a moving van driver criminal, his lawyer said Wednesday in seeking acquittals on charges related to a double-fatality crash.
Defence counsel Chad Haggerty conceded Christopher Boucha had been driving for too many hours when he crossed the median on the Trans-Canada Highway west of Calgary into oncoming traffic.
But Haggerty said Boucha’s evidence that it was a mechanical failure, not driver fatigue, that caused the five-tonne Penske rental truck to veer out of control raised a doubt about his guilt.
And Haggerty said just because Boucha had been on the road for longer than the law allowed for large truck drivers, that didn’t make him criminally responsible for the crash.
The lawyer said that alone would be insufficient to find his client’s conduct was a marked departure from what a prudent driver would do and amounted to dangerous driving.
“If the court accepts that there was a mechanical defect, nothing that Mr. Boucha did prior to that point and nothing Mr. Boucha did after that point would have prevented this horrific accident,” Haggerty said.
“The fact that he has broken (an) … act does not, in and of itself, mean that his driving was a marked departure from the actions of a prudent individual,” he said.
A breach of the legislation alone isn’t sufficient to establish dangerous driving, Haggerty said.
“The law does not lightly brand someone as a criminal.”
The legislation says an operator cannot drive for more than 13 hours in a day. Boucha had been on the job for about 28 hours from the previous day when the Aug. 11, 2021, crash occurred.
Crown prosecutor Vince Pingitore said none of the evidence before the court, save Boucha’s testimony, suggested mechanical failure would have caused him to lose control of the moving truck as he headed towards Calgary that morning.
“There is no evidence that there was in fact a mechanical defect with respect to the Penske truck,” Pingitore said.
He said a parts recall on the truck which could impact the vehicle’s steering would have resulted in warning signs of a problem long before the crash occurred, such as loosened steering, wandering, noises or vibrations.
“There would be an indication that this vehicle was suffering from any of the potential steering malfunctions that would show signs of deterioration,” the prosecutor said.
“He stated clearly that there were no issues present prior to the collision,” he said.
“There is nothing with respect to any warnings or otherwise to suggest that there were symptoms that one would expect to see given the recall notice.”
Boucha testified he had pulled to the left passing lane in anticipation of passing a vehicle ahead of him and the truck just continued to veer in that direction, despite his attempts to steer back onto the highway, before the deadly crash.
Invermere couple John Fox, 78, and Glenys Fox, 75, died in the collision.
Justice Craig Jones will hand down a verdict at the end of the month.