Accused in high-speed chase was driver in fatal crash

Source: Winnipeg Sun

MANITOBA - An 18-year-old man charged in a high-speed pursuit involving a stolen vehicle last month was the driver of a stolen truck that struck and killed a cyclist in 2007, the Winnipeg Sun has learned.

The man was a youth at the time of the crash -- which killed 57-year-old James (Jim) Duane -- and cannot be identified due to the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

A source said the man was behind the wheel of a pickup truck when it struck Duane, who was riding his bicycle, on Burrows Avenue at McGregor Street in the North End on July 24, 2007.

Word of the man's latest troubles with the law didn't come as a surprise to Duane's sister, Marilyn Lariviere. "I'm glad no one was hurt in this incident," she said.

The man, who was a Level 4 offender in the Winnipeg Auto Theft Suppression Strategy, recently got out of jail.

In January 2008, after pleading guilty to criminal negligence causing death during an earlier court appearance, he received a 32-month sentence but was ordered to serve 21 months of it in closed custody.

Lariviere said she still hasn't received a letter of apology, which was ordered by the courts, from the driver or passenger of the truck.

At his sentencing, the teen was described as a "very high risk" to reoffend.

Court heard the teen told a probation officer he stole the truck because he didn't feel like walking and didn't mean to hit Duane but was driving too fast to stop.

The man is now accused of recklessly driving a stolen sport utility vehicle while fleeing police through Winnipeg's North End and Maples neighbourhoods Nov. 25.

No one was seriously injured when the stolen vehicle collided with a minivan and light standard at Arlington Street and Burrows Avenue, not far from the intersection where Duane was killed.

Police eventually located the vehicle abandoned on Magenta Crescent. Several shotgun shells were found inside.

Two days later, police raided a home, arrested the man and two others and allegedly seized a second stolen vehicle and a sawed-off shotgun.

The man is charged with 13 offences, including flight from police, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm and driving while disqualified.