WESTLOCK – The 26-year-old man who faces six serious charges including impaired driving causing death in relation to a fiery, late-November 2022 head-on crash on Highway 44 north of Westlock that claimed the life of an 82-year-old Chisholm woman and sent her passenger to hospital has yet to enter a plea, with his lawyer in the process of scheduling a preliminary hearing.
Cole Warkentin, 26, did not physically appear in Westlock Provincial Court March 8 for his first appearance on charges of impaired driving causing death, causing death with a blood alcohol limit over .08, impaired driving causing bodily harm, causing bodily harm with a blood alcohol limit over .08, dangerous operation of motor vehicle causing death and dangerous operation of motor vehicle with a blood alcohol limit over .08.
During a brief 90-second appearance, Judge Joanne Heudes agreed to a request from lawyer Richard Forbes, acting as an agent for Warkentin’s lawyer Christopher Millsap, to set the case over to March 22 for election and plea as “they’re in the process of arranging a special sitting for a preliminary hearing as the Crown estimates two days will be required.”
According to previous reporting, around 5:30 p.m., Nov. 26, 2022, Westlock RCMP responded to a head-on collision on Highway 44 near Township Road 612 just north of the Pibroch turnoff. Police reported that a southbound Ford F-150 pickup truck appeared to have crossed the centre line and struck a northbound Chevrolet Malibu — following, the truck burst into flames.
A Nov. 28 media release from the RCMP confirmed that the driver of the Malibu, an 82-year-old woman from Chisholm, was declared dead at the scene, while her passenger and the driver of the F-150 suffered minor injuries. Highway 44 was closed until midnight the day of the crash as STARS Air Ambulance was called to the scene.
During a Feb. 10 interview, Westlock RCMP Detachment acting commander Cpl. Riley Sutherland couldn’t talk about specifics of this case but said when they lay charges of this magnitude it normally entails “multiple units to complete the investigation.”
“We were waiting for all of the information and evidence to be analysed before we could proceed with charges,” said Sutherland on the delay between the date of crash and when the charges were laid in early February.
