Driver convicted of killing pedestrian

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This article was published 06/05/2017 (3105 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg driver has been convicted of killing a 23-year-old woman who was crossing a downtown street three years ago. But there was not enough evidence to prove Shane Recksiedler was drunk when he ran a red light and hit Amy Gilbert, the judge decided.

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Chris Martin found Recksiedler guilty of dangerous driving causing death in the April 5, 2014 crash, but found him not guilty of impaired driving after a trial in April. The judge’s written decision was recently released. In it, he states the Crown’s evidence that impaired driving contributed to Gilbert’s death was “frail,” particularly because the police didn’t observe any signs of impairment from Recksiedler after the incident, which happened at the intersection of Broadway and Donald Street around 5 p.m. on a clear Saturday.

Recksiedler was driving eastbound on Broadway approaching the intersection at Donald Street. The light had been red for about nine seconds when Recksiedler drove through it, hitting Gilbert, who had been walking northbound in the crosswalk across Broadway.

The judge found that the accused’s driving was “objectively dangerous,” in large part because of his fatigue. He said he didn’t accept beyond a reasonable doubt that Recksiedler was impaired at the time.

“Not a single police officer who dealt with Mr. Recksiedler, starting shortly after the accident, observed even one indicator or sign of impairment. I disagree with the Crown’s assertion or implication that the police simply missed what others saw,” the judge wrote in his decision.

“Most of the officers who testified were seasoned, had dealt with impaired drivers and other impaired persons many times over the course of their careers, and had specific training in alcohol screening and breathalyzer devices. Simply put, they knew what to look for and saw nothing,” he added.

Court heard Recksiedler drank between 11 and 13 cans of beer over 13 hours the night before the crash. A couple of hours before the crash, he drank two or three more beers with Pepsi, having had very little sleep in between.

No experts were called to testify about the effect this amount of alcohol or lack of sleep may have had on the driver leading up to the fatal crash, the judge said in his verdict. Instead, the Crown’s civilian witnesses who had seen the accused before the crash were asked to rate his level of intoxication on a scale of one to 10 — a measurement the judge said was “virtually meaningless.”

Recksiedler is set to be sentenced for dangerous driving causing death after a sentencing hearing set for next month.

katie.may@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @thatkatiemay