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Fine handed down against trucker in fatal Vulcan accident |
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Written by Lethbridge Herald
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Monday, December 21 2009, 8:10 PM |
A southern Alberta man was fined $1,000 in Lethbridge provincial court Monday after pleading guilty to an infraction of the Highway Traffic Act.
Crown prosecutor Vaughan Hartigan told court Noel Flitton was driving a semi tractor trailer unit on a rural road near Vulcan April 9 of this year, but as he approached an intersection with a highway he failed to yield the right of way to a vehicle already travelling along the highway.
The female driver of that vehicle struck the passenger side of the semi, and died instantly.
Hartigan said although not a criminal code infraction, Flitton’s “tragic moment of inattention” had dire consequences, not only for the victim but the victim’s family.
“In this case the impact couldn’t be any greater,” he said.
Defence lawyer Tracy Hembroff said her 33-year-old client looked for oncoming traffic but failed to see the vehicle driving toward him on the highway. When he finally noticed the car, he had already pulled onto the highway and it was too late to avoid the collision.
Hembroff said Flitton is remorseful for what happened, and she noted he is facing civil action relating to the incident.
In addition to the fine, Flitton must also pay a $150 victims’ surcharge.
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