No charges after party bus fatality in Vancouver
Posted October 25, 2016 12:24 pm.
Last Updated October 25, 2016 12:29 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Vancouver Police say they will not be recommending charges for the operators of the party bus company connected with the death of a woman at the beginning of the year.
There were more than two dozen people on the bus on January 9th on Burrard and West Hastings Streets when shortly before 9:30 p.m. a 23-year-old woman lost her balance, stumbled into the doorway and hit the doors. They opened, she fell out and later died.
“Engineers were brought in to assist with a full and comprehensive inspection of the bus. And it was determined that a mechanical malfunction and low operating pressure with the pneumatic door were the main contributing factors to this fatality,” explains Sergeant Brian Montague. “It’s air pressure that keeps this door closed — there are latches involved as well. The door was not functioning properly and as a result the door was easily opened simply by pushing on it. And that’s what happened here.”
The owner and driver of party bus have been fined under the Motor Vehicle Act and could still be sued.
Montague says repairs were made on the doors prior to this incident. “The role of the police here is to determine criminality. Were there criminal actions that took place? Does somebody need to be charged criminally? And after consultation with both Crown Counsel and our legal experts, there’s no offence in the Criminal Code that would allow us to proceed criminally,” explains Montague.
Chelsea Lynn Mist James’ family is disappointed with the fines that have been leveled against Silver Lady, the Burnaby-based operator. “Clearly, she’s not satisfied with some minor fines and I can’t say I blame her. But at this point, that’s all we have as a police department to use.”
There were 28 people on the bus at the time. Police won’t really comment on party bus regulations, adding those fall under provincial guidelines.
