The passenger who suffered serious injuries when the all-terrain vehicle he was in struck an RCMP vehicle and went off the road is suing both the driver and the RCMP officer involved in the collision.
Jason Parlby is claiming damages against both Jamey Pelland and Cst. Paul Starr from the
Aug. 11, 2013 early-morning crash that left him with an extensive list of injuries, including partial paralysis of his left arm and shoulder.
In a statement of claim, Parlby alleges the actions of Pelland and Starr led to his injuries.
Starr, conversely, is blaming the outcome almost entirely on Pelland, although he also alleges Parlby was not wearing a seatbelt at the time, should have known Pelland was impaired and failed to let Pelland know Starr was trying to pull him over.
In December, Pelland was sentenced to 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.
In issuing the sentence, provincial court judge Michael Brecknell found Starr had tried to pull Pelland over because he was driving the side-by-side along Northwood Pulp Mill Road just as a shift change was about to occur at the pulp mill.
Pelland failed to pull over when hailed and Starr took what Brecknell, at first glance, considered to be reasonable and prudent action when he tried to pass the ATV and "cause it to cease evading him so that people coming from the pulp mill or indeed going to the pulp mill for the shift change would not be in jeopardy."
Based on an investigation by the Independent Investigations Office, the civilian-led watchdog that investigates deaths and serious injuries involving police, Crown counsel had concluded there was no criminal wrongdoing on the part of Starr.
A trial on Parlby's lawsuit will be held in late September in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.
