WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 20, 2013
TRI-CITIES
crackdown on repeat offenders
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thenownews.com
THE NOW
REVOLVING DOOR Coquitlam councillor calls for
GRIDIRON ACTION Terry Fox march past Centennial and advance to the semifinals
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Serving COQUITLAM, PORT COQUITLAM, PORT MOODY, ANMORE and BELCARRA since 1984
3 fatalities, no charges
PRECIOUS PHOTOS
Mom wants images of deceased son back NEWS 10
Two new council members sworn in
NEWS 11
Petition grows for Red Robinson NEWS 12
PHOTO BY CHUNG CHOW
Catering to kids
Fred Penner entertains
LIFE 13
NO LEGAL CONSEQUENCES FOR PEDESTRIAN DEATHS Jeremy DEUTSCH jdeutsch@thenownews.com As Carmelle Peart made her way along the sidewalk on Austin Avenue near Safeway during the grey afternoon of Feb. 2, she had no clue her life was about to end in tragedy. The 82-year-old grandmother, one day shy of her 83rd birthday, had just finished doing some banking in the area and was walking along the street, when at the same time a driver in the parking lot of the grocery store started his vehicle. But according to excerpts from a report to Crown counsel obtained by the Tri-Cities NOW, the elderly driver immediately lost control of the Toyota in the parking lot. Witnesses said the vehicle accelerated into a parked car, then the driver over corrected his steering, colliding with another vehicle. The Toyota turned back southbound where the driver continued out of con- Anne Saunders, right, wants charges trol, launching the vehicle over a raised not to seek charges. Since no charges were approved, flower bed that separated the parking Crown does not have lot from the sidewalk, the power to suspend hitting Peart and killing the driver’s licence. her instantly. The decision is a The car continued disappointment for southbound across Justice should Peart’s daughter Anne Austin before coming have been done Saunders, who was to a stop after crashing hoping the driver would through a fence in the somehow, even at least have his licence centre median. just suspending taken away. The excerpts are from his licence. “Justice should have a charge assessment been done somehow, decision by Deputy –Anne Saunders, even just suspending Regional Crown Counsel Daughter of his licence,” she told the Maurizio Dattilo sent to Carmelle Peart Tri-Cities NOW. Peart’s family earlier this “It’s not fair.” month. According to the report, the driver, While police recommended a charge of careless driving, Crown has decided whom the Tri-Cities NOW has chosen
NOW FILE PHOTO
laid in the death of her mother.
not to identify since he was not charged with any crime, told police at the scene “for some reason … my foot got stuck or the shoe got stuck on the accelerator or something and just completely lost control. And … went rather quickly. I know I hit two cars and I hadn’t realized I hit a woman.” The driver also told police he reversed to pull out of the stall, then placed the gear into drive and his foot got stuck. “I just couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t … the car kept going faster and faster … as if I was standing on the accelerator,” the report stated. It was also noted witnesses described the driver as looking “shocked” and “frightened.” In the letter to Peart’s family, Dattilo CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
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