City employee charged with hit-and-run infractions

A City of Winnipeg employee is facing three Highway Traffic Act charges in an early-morning hit-and-run that left a 25-year-old pedestrian with serious injuries.

The vehicle involved in the March 15 collision at Osborne Street and Mulvey Avenue East was a Ford Transit panel van registered to the city, the Winnipeg Police Service said Monday.

“It did take some time to conclusively identify the vehicle,” police spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon said.

The collision happened at about 12:30 a.m., while the victim, Margaret (Macey) Cobiness, was trying to cross Mulvey in front of a stopped westbound van.

After she was hit and knocked to the ground, the van’s driver turned and drove north on Osborne, without stopping at the scene, police said.

The city employee faces charges of careless driving causing a life-threatening injury, failing to yield the right of way to a pedestrian, and failing to stop and provide particulars to an injured person.

Cobiness, who suffered fractures to her pelvis, hip, collarbone and ribs, and scrapes and bruises, had hoped for more serious charges.

“I wasn’t too happy with the charges,” she told the Free Press. “It’s more like a slap on the wrist for him.”

The City of Winnipeg wouldn’t provide details about the employee nor his employment status following his arrest.

“We are not able to comment further on this as it is a police and human resources matter,” city spokesman David Driedger wrote in an email.

Cobiness was walking to a bar and grill in Osborne Village to play pool when she was struck. She said she made eye contact with the van’s driver before stepping off the curb.

After being run over, the driver backed up and drove over her a second time, she said.

A suspect turned himself in at the WPS’ downtown headquarters April 2, about two weeks after police issued a public appeal to help locate the vehicle involved and identify the alleged driver.

“My understanding is that once the driver of that vehicle was established, they were co-operative,” McKinnon said.

In the March 17 appeal, police encouraged the driver of a large white cargo-style van to call investigators in WPS’ traffic division.

Cobiness said investigators informed her of the arrest, but she didn’t know the suspect was a city worker.

“The police said he turned himself in, and he told the police he thought he hit a curb,” she said.

The man was released on a court appearance notice, which police said was mandated by the provincial Highway Traffic Act.

McKinnon said the charges that were laid are common for a hit-and-run. There was no evidence to substantiate any other charges or offences, she added.

“There didn’t appear to be criminal negligence or malice attached to it,” McKinnon said. “Once this goes to court, it will be established if the driver was aware (of the collision) or not.”

Cobiness, a mother of two originally from Buffalo Point First Nation in southeastern Manitoba, spent about two weeks in hospital, where she underwent surgery for her injuries.

She continues to recover physically and emotionally.

Cobiness said she is using a wheelchair and walker, struggles to sleep at night and is still in pain.

“I’m learning to walk again,” she said. “I probably will never walk again properly. I’m not confident that it will be the same after.”

The city employee’s name was not released by police because the charges have not yet been formally laid.

Police did not release his age. The information was held back for “anonymity” purposes, according to McKinnon.

It was unclear if the City of Winnipeg van was equipped with GPS.

McKinnon said surveillance video was part of the investigation.

“It’s always common practice to involve solicitation of video, whether it’s private or public, or city camera systems, as well as talk to a number of witnesses, to confirm and get more concrete information, which led to a licence plate and a registration leading to this vehicle,” she said.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca