The driver of an all-terrain vehicle involved in a collision with an RCMP vehicle slightly more than two years ago has been prohibited from driving for four years.
Jamey Edward Pelland, 28, must also serve 60 days in jail, served intermittently, followed by one year probation, and was fined $1,200 plus $460 in victim surcharges on one count each of flight causing bodily harm and driving while impaired.
Pelland, who was sentenced Wednesday in Prince George provincial court, escaped the Aug. 11, 2013 crash with minor injuries but the passenger in the side-by-side suffered serious back injuries that put in doubt whether he would ever be able to walk again.
The collision also led to an investigation by the Independent Investigations Office, the civilian-led watchdog that investigates deaths and serious injuries involving police, but no charges were laid against the Prince George RCMP officer involved.
According to the IIO's report, the collision occurred at about 3 a.m. near the intersection of Highway 97 and Northwood Pulp Mill Road, sending the ATV off the road and down an embankment.
The officer told the IIO he was driving south on Highway 97 when he saw headlights coming out of the weigh scales in the wrong direction and then the ATV cut directly in front of his vehicle. He activated his emergency lights and turned around but the ATV did not pull over and, instead, headed east on Northwood.
Using his loudspeaker, the officer ordered the ATV driver to pull over but to no effect.
He turned off his emergency lights and did not chase the ATV but continued to follow it and, when he saw oncoming headlights, worried there would be a collision because the ATV was swerving all over the road.
The officer decided to pass the ATV to go further along Northwood Pulp Mill Road and block off traffic coming in the other direction.
When the ATV pulled back into the right lane, the officer sped up and tried to pass on the left, driving "close to fog line, to give the ATV as much room as possible," according to a summary of the officer's account in the decision.
He said the ATV driver saw him and deliberately rammed his vehicle, then fishtailed and went off the road's right side and down the embankment.
In contrast, the passenger blamed the police officer but also admitted there are blanks in his memory of the incident.
Crown counsel concluded there was no reason to accept the evidence of the passenger over that of the officer involved, particularly since the passenger could not remember some of the events and had been drinking.
