Roadside memorial established at the intersection of McGill Road and University Drive, Nov. 30, 2023/via City of Kamloops
Suggesting only part of the story is being told publicly, Crown prosecutors have decided to stick with provincial-level charges against the driver of the vehicle allegedly responsible for the life-changing crash just over a year ago involving three members of the TRU Men’s Volleyball team.
The BC Prosecution Service has announced it will not be pursuing criminal charges against the driver of a pick-up which plowed into the car carrying the three young men — Owyn McInnis, Riley Brinnen and Owen Waterhouse — on the afternoon of November 29th, 2023.
Brinnen would end up initially paralyzed from the crash, but has since regained some of his mobility.
Waterhouse suffered severe head injures that required an extended stay in rehab.
22 year-old Owyn McInnis did not survive, dying shortly after being rushed to hospital, along with his teammates in the car with him.
Four other people at the intersection of McGill and University Drive were also caught up in the impact of the crash, which saw the pick-up all but embed itself in the vehicle the young men were in.
“As is generally the case with police investigations, only a portion of the evidence has made its way into the public domain,” said the Prosecution Service in its written decision to stick with the existing charges against the pick-up driver. “The facts reported in the media and shared publicly are incomplete and present only a partial picture of what had to be considered.”
Late 2023 Men’s Volleyball Team members Owyn McInnes/via Instagram
“The BCPS has reviewed the entire investigative file, and the applicable law, and made an objective assessment of the evidence, as we are obligated to do,” added the BC Prosecution Service.
The families of the victims, upon learning the accused was being charged under the Motor Vehicle Act, began a campaign to convince BC’s Attorney General, Niki Sharma, to intervene.
While reports suggest Sharma may have asked for the review, the Prosecution Service has confirmed the ultimate decision making was done at a lower level than the AG, and followed BCPS standard guidelines.
“A Deputy Regional Crown Counsel was consulted on the initial charge assessment,” said the BCPS in its statement. “The Regional Crown Counsel for the Interior region has now reviewed this matter, including the investigative file and applicable law, and concluded that MVA charges are the only charges that meet the BCPS charge assessment standard, and that the charge
assessment decision was made with diligence and objectivity.”
2023 TRU Men’s Volleyball Team member Owen Waterhouse/via Instagram
Prosecution references loss of consciousness
In releasing its decision, the BC Prosecution Service did provide three different case law references to back up its rationale behind the decision.
“The Supreme Court of Canada has provided guidance on the Criminal Code offence of dangerous driving in the leading cases of R. v. Beatty, and R. v. Roy, as has the BC Court of Appeal in R. v. Jiang,” noted the BC Prosecution Service.
These references may provide some insight into what the accused told investigators about what allegedly led to the deadly crash, as well as why prosecutors don’t feel they could prosecute criminally.
R.v. Beatty and R. v. Jiang both involve drivers who either fell asleep or lost consciousness in the moments before their respective crashes took place, while the driver involved in R. v. Roy couldn’t remember the circumstances which led up to his crash.
A lack of memory is also referenced in the Beatty case, while a medical condition is pointed to as a factor in Jiang.
All three cases involve charges of dangerous driving causing death, which is is what members of the victims families had been petitioning the BC Prosecution Service to pursue.
Public information surrounding case limited
“When we heard there was no criminal charge… It was joke. It makes no sense to any of us,” Dylan VanSpankenen told Radio NL in the aftermath of the BC Prosecution Service’s decision to only file charges under the Motor Vehicle Act.
VanSpankenen was the TRU roommate of Owyn McInnis when he was killed in the crash.
Now living in Calgary and continuing toward a Master’s degree, VanSpankenen says information about the investigation into the death of his roommate, friend and teammate was difficult to obtain over the course of the nearly 12 months the probe ran.
Dylan VanSpankenen celebrating on the court as a member of the TRU Men’s Volleyball team/via Instagram
Citing the Privacy Act and “case integrity” headed toward trial, the RCMP will rarely provide information about ongoing investigations, unless its deemed critical to public safety.
As such, Kamloops RCMP gave out limited information about the November 29, 2023 crash, which took place at around 3pm on a dry, overcast Wednesday afternoon.
A release issued by RCMP the day after the incident did allude to the vehicle the 29 year-old accused was allegedly driving as being out-of-control before the crash.
“Emergency responders were called to the intersection of McGill Road and University Drive, after a Dodge Ram truck collided with several small trees before striking a Volkswagen that was stopped at a red light, creating secondary crashes with four other vehicles,” stated Kamloops RCMP on November 30th, 2023.
Announcing the end of its investigation nearly a year later — November 25th, 2024 — Kamloops RCMP did also provide some further clarity into what evidence investigators were able to gather in the immediate aftermath of the crash.
“The driver of the truck remained at the scene and police investigators with specialty training in assessing driver impairment established the truck driver was not impaired by drugs or alcohol,” noted the RCMP.
Case to go before judge
2023 TRU Men’s Volleyball Team member Riley Brinnen/via TRU
The accused, 29 year-old Colval Shaquille Abbinett, is facing two provincial-based charges under the Motor Vehicle Act.
The more forceful of the two: Driving without due care and attention under section 144(1)(a). The second is: Driving without reasonable consideration for others under section 144(1)(b).
Both face a maximum fine of $2,000, as well as six demerit points on a BC License if convicted.
Criminal Code of Canada convictions for dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm could end up putting someone in federal prison for a life sentence.
In confirming its decision to move ahead with the provincial charges, rather than federal, the BC Prosecution Service did issue an additional “correction” to the media coverage surrounding the case. “These charges were laid on a long-form Information (not traffic tickets, as reported by some media),” scolded the BC Prosecution Service in its release.
A court date for the accused has been set December 23rd at Provincial Court in Kamloops, which will be open to the public.
“With the pending MVA prosecution, the BCPS will not disclose details of the evidence in the police investigative file to the public other than in the court proceedings themselves so as not to jeopardize the outcome and to respect the role of the judiciary,” said the BC Prosecution Service.
