Tories blast crash decision

The B.C. Conservative Party is calling on the provincial government to change its no fault insurance policy following the revelation that criminal charges will not be laid in connection with a fatal collision that killed a Thompson Rivers University student and seriously injured two others.

One year ago, on the afternoon of Nov. 29, 2023, a black Dodge Ram pickup truck struck several trees along McGill Road before slamming into the back of a Volkswagen Jetta stopped at a red light at University Drive. Three members of TRU’s men’s volleyball team were inside the Jetta — Owyn McInnis, Riley Brinnen and Owen Waterhouse. McInnis died, while Brinnen and Waterhouse suffered serious injuries.

The province’s Official Opposition party is now calling on the government to change its insurance policy and to make “amendments to the justice system to ensure victims are prioritized over perpetrators.”

The party's statement stopped short of directly calling on the government to reconsider proceeding with criminal charges of dangerous driving causing death and injury, but implied it was a right course of action and noted it’s what the parents of the three men have asked government officials to do.

“The McInnis family has a very reasonable request — have a judge and jury determine if the driver is guilty of criminal actions in an open court,” Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar said in the release.

Colval Shaquille Abbinett, 29, is facing one count each of driving without due care and attention and driving without reasonable consideration, offences under B.C.’s Motor Vehicle Act.

The penalties for the charges Abbinett is facing are typically fines of $368, to a maximum of $2,000. A driving prohibition is also on the table.

The Conservative release goes on to state the penalties available in this case feel “woefully inadequate” in the face of the profound loss and trauma the parents of the three men have endured.

“It’s just another example that our justice system is broken,” Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer said in the release.

The Conservative’s transit and ICBC critic, Brent Chapman, said the governing NDP’s no fault insurance places limited responsibility on both the insurer and offender, while shifting an overwhelming burden onto victims.

“Reckless, inattentive driving that causes a fatality and serious injuries must carry serious consequences,” Chapman said in the release.

Parents of the three students learned from the Kamloops Crown office on Monday that charges under the motor vehicle act would be proceeding rather than criminal charges.

B.C. Conservative Party Leader John Rustad described that decision as “a slap-on-the-wrist.”

“And the victims are not being compensated for their life-shattering injuries,” Rustad said. “Cases of such gravity demand the scrutiny of a judge and jury — not the discretion of a Crown prosecutor alone.”