A Fort Ware man who rolled his sport utility vehicle during an "alcohol-fueled joyride" along the First Nation village's airstrip has been found guilty of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice John Steeves also found Shawn McCook, 30, guilty of impaired driving causing bodily harm and two counts of breach of an undertaking or recognizance.
But Steeves found McCook not guilty of the most serious charge of criminal negligence causing bodily harm in a verdict issued Tuesday for the June 28, 2014 incident.
McCook was behind the wheel of his 1985 Ford Bronco during the early morning hours on that day when he either swerved to get onto a nearby road or tried to "drift" the back tires and ended up rolling the SUV two to four times.
One of McCook's three passengers was ejected and suffered a broken shoulder, while all the passengers inside were briefly knocked unconscious but revived and walked home, Steeves said in reading out his decision at the Prince George courthouse.
The airstrip is located in the middle of the village, which is home to about 400 people and found on the north end of Williston Lake, and is often used as a road, Steeves noted.
He also noted RCMP are in a separate office about an hour away and the usual vehicle insurance and licencing systems are not in place within village limits.
As a result, McCook's vehicle was uninsured and he's never had a driver's licence.
Other than the windshield, his vehicle was also without windows, as well as without seatbelts and the tires were in poor condition, the court heard.
"Police testified that elsewhere in British Columbia, it would have been impounded and condemned," Steeves said.
McCook admitted in his statement to police that he had been drinking but the case was taken to trial because there was a dispute about how much he drank and whether it impaired his ability to drive.
Noting even slight impairment is enough for an impaired driving conviction, Steeves concluded from testimony of the three passengers that McCook did consume enough to hinder his ability to drive.
He had been going about 60 km/h when he rolled the vehicle and McCook had argued that the rollover was due to the Bronco's short wheelbase.
However, Steeves concluded McCook knew that before he got behind the wheel.
That, and the fact McCook had removed the windows, considered a safety feature that helps people stay inside the vehicle, were key reasons why Steeves found him guilty of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
But Steeves found McCook was not "directed by the extra-wrongful mind" it would take for a conviction for criminal negligence causing bodily harm.
McCook was found guilty of the two breaches, imposed from another matter, because he was out past his curfew and had been consuming alcohol.
Sentencing will occur at a later date.
