No charges in motorcyclist’s death because no way to prove who left mud on highway, widow told

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This article was published 16/06/2023 (859 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Charges were not pursued in a 2022 crash that killed a Winnipeg motorcyclist on a mud-covered highway due to a lack of evidence surrounding who was responsible for the debris, his widow was informed Thursday.

Lise Léveillé met with representatives of the Crown and RCMP to find out why no one will be held accountable for the slippery mud that caked Provincial Road 311, northeast of Steinbach.

“Basically, there was not enough evidence to prove who left the mud on the road,” she said. “I understand their explanation. I see why they came to that conclusion. It’s still not what we were hoping for.”

Her husband Denis L’Heureux was thrown off his motorcycle and struck by an oncoming pickup truck when his bike slid on mud that was wet from rainfall Sept. 24.

L’Heureux, who died on his 45th birthday, was leading a group of riders. His 12-year-old daughter was a passenger on his bike.

Léveillé was among the five riders who lost control of their motorcycles on the mud slick.

She said the mud looked like asphalt.

Léveillé was previously told the mud was from farm equipment.

At Thursday’s meeting in Winnipeg, she was informed PR 311 is used by multiple farm operators, making it more difficult to prove who was responsible for the mud on the road that day.

Léveillé said she will explore the possibility of pursuing legal action and continue to campaign for safety improvements on Manitoba’s highways.

“Our next goal is now what can we do for the prevention, so that this doesn’t happen again,” she said. “I feel like I can help make change for others from this point on.”

Léveillé and the Coalition of Manitoba Motorcycle Groups want the government to require people to post warning signs when mud or debris they are responsible for poses a danger to road users.

They also want effective enforcement and significant fines for people who fail to clear debris in a timely manner.

Léveillé said the Manitoba government should make it easier for the public to report debris that has been left on a highway.

Under the Highway Traffic Act, it is illegal to deposit or not remove anything, such as mud, that could cause injury.

A conviction can carry a fine of up to $2,000. Offences resulting in death can result in a jail sentence of up to two years.

Nine tickets were issued in 2022, a government spokesman said.

Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure is working with a number of organizations, including the CMMG and Manitoba Public Insurance, to set up a committee that will study the issue and recommend potential safety measures.

A recent pilot project in Ontario used road signs to warn drivers about the possibility of mud on roads next to farmland where equipment is working.

Since the crash, MPI has taken a number of steps to increase safety awareness when it comes to mud or debris on roads or highways, said Kristy Rydz, a spokeswoman for the Crown auto insurer.

New “keep your equipment clean” advertisements ran in October to encourage agricultural equipment operators to avoid leaving debris on a roadway.

MPI also joined a farm-safety advisory council, led by Keystone Agricultural Producers, which has discussed the issue of road debris, said Rydz.

On May 23, a 26-year-old Steinbach woman was killed when she tried to avoid debris on Highway 52 in the Rural Municipality of La Broquerie.

RCMP said she lost control of her vehicle, which collided with an oncoming pickup truck.

“The debris on the road for this collision was a tarp that is believed to have come off another vehicle at some point, but (investigators) cannot say from whom, or when it fell onto the road,” spokeswoman Cpl. Julie Courchaine wrote in an email.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @chriskitching