The B.C. Court of Appeal has upheld a lower court ruling that the drivers were equally at fault in a winter 2010 head-on collision west of Prince George that left one of them severely injured.
In appealing a May 2013 decision by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Peter Willcocks, defendant Robert Wallace Spiers argued William John Hogstead should have been found entirely at fault or at least be apportioned a greater share of the blame.
Spiers was driving a tractor and trailer and Hogstead a pickup truck when they collided during the early evening of Jan. 6, 2010 on Highway 16 near Isle Pierre Road, about 40 kilometres west of Prince George.
Willcocks found both had crossed over the centre line at the moment of collision and apportioned blame equally.
In the appeal, Spiers' counsel argued Willcocks erred by not accepting his evidence that Hogstead was on the far side of the road and unexpectedly drifted into his lane before he had realized what was happening and that the collision was going to happen regardless of whether Spiers had encroached on the centre line.
Spiers also contended Willcocks erred by not finding Hogstead was impaired by the drug Ativan and that this caused him to let his truck drift into the oncoming lane.
However, in a decision issued Nov. 29, a three-justice appeals court panel upheld the ruling, noting that Willcocks found Spiers' recollection of the event unreliable, although he was forthright and honest.
They also noted Willcocks' conclusion that the collision could have been avoided if either driver had given the other a wider berth.
Hogstead, who had been traveling home to Endako following an appointment at Prince George Regional Hospital, suffered a brain injury and was unable to testify at the trial.
Spiers had been returning home to Prince George home from a trip out to Terrace when the collision occurred at about 7:15 p.m. It was dark out, and Spiers acknowledged during cross-examination at the Supreme Court trial that he was tired and had been working long days.
