BARRHEAD – The driver of a pick-up truck involved in a June 26 collision that sent a motorcyclist to hospital with serious injuries now faces a charge of driving without due care and attention.
Barrhead RCMP Sgt. Bob Dodds confirmed that police had laid the charge in a July 17 interview when asked about the status of the investigations of two recent motor vehicle collisions. In the noon-hour June 26 accident, RCMP determined that the driver of a GMC pickup travelling westbound on Highway 654 struck a motorcycle travelling south on Highway 33.
The motorcyclist was taken to an Edmonton-area hospital via ground ambulance and was reported to be in critical but stable condition. The current health condition of the individual is not known.
The other was a two-vehicle June 5 collision along Highway 763 near Tiger Lily that claimed the life of a 47-year-old Red Deer woman.
Dodds noted that police would not be laying any charges in that case as the investigation, which included a collision reconstructionist, concluded the deceased caused the accident.
In a previous interview, Dodds called the June 26 accident typical of what he has seen at the intersection in the last dozen years.
"A person travelling on Highway 654 comes up to the intersection without realizing someone is coming on (Highway 33), and there is a collision," he said. Dodds added that he does not know why the intersection seems to be a magnet for collisions.
"The last curve (on Highway 654) is at Lunnford, five or six miles from the intersection. I don't know if it is that they are not paying attention by the time they get to the intersection, or it is something else," he said.
Dodds speculated that the issue might be related to a common driving error people make, especially on rural highways, in that they stop at the stop sign, which is set back from the stop line.
In the original interview about the accident, he noted that the pickup driver indicated that he had stopped at the stop sign at the intersection but did not know if he stopped again at the stop line.
One of the comments Dodds has heard at accident scenes at intersections on rural highways is that the stop sign can obstruct a driver's view.
"That is why the stop line is about 10 feet ahead of the stop sign so that you have an unobstructed view in both directions," he said. "You stop at the stop line, have a good look, and when it is safe to proceed, you do so."
