Judge rejects RCMP officer’s appeal of unsafe driving conviction

A Manitoba RCMP constable has lost her bid to overturn a conviction for unsafe driving following a high-speed pursuit that sent three people to hospital.

Const. Laurie Ann Krulicki was found guilty after trial last January of one count of failing to have due regard for safety while operating an emergency vehicle, an offence under the Highway Traffic Act.

A judge sentenced her to a reprimand.

Krulicki appealed the conviction, arguing it was a miscarriage of justice and the judge committed a mistake of law.

In a written decision released Tuesday, King’s Bench Justice Sheldon Lanchberry dismissed Krulicki’s appeal, ruling the trial judge “committed no palpable and overriding errors in reaching the decision.”

Court heard at trial Krulicki was doing traffic enforcement on Inkster Boulevard just outside Winnipeg around 1:25 a.m., Aug. 1, 2023, when a vehicle passed her driving 123 km/h.

Krulicki activated her emergency equipment and followed the vehicle for 4 1/2 kilometres, with the pursued vehicle reaching a top estimated speed of 187 km/h before colliding with another vehicle at the Intersection of Inkster Boulevard and McPhillips Street.

The driver of the pursued vehicle and two people in the other vehicle were taken to Health Sciences Centre for treatment.

The posted speed limit at the start of the chase was 90 km/h and 70 km/h at its end.

Court heard Krulicki was driving 97 km/h as the chase started and 117 km/h when it ended.

Krulicki argued the trial judge focused solely on her speed and ignored other factors that showed she was driving with “due care and attention.” The roads were clear, with limited traffic and no pedestrians, Krulicki argued, and she reduced her speed when approaching a red light.

“I am not convinced the fact that there were no pedestrians, cyclists, animals or any hazard on the roadway is sufficient to show due regard for the safety of herself and the public,” Lanchberry said.

“It is (Krulicki’s) excessive speed which matters,” he said. “The question before the learned trial judge was not whether the outcome of the pursuit did not result in an accident involving the RCMP cruiser, but whether the circumstances alone are sufficient to support a conviction.”

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca