UPDATE: Andelina Hecimovic has been found guilty of two counts of dangerous driving causing death. More to come.
A B.C. nurse who was cleared of all charges in connection with the deaths of two people in a 2010 crash in Pitt Meadows will be re-tried in court Thursday morning.
The first trial that took place in 2013 ended with an unexpected decision when Andelina Hecimovic, charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death, was found not guilty of killing Beckie Dyer, 19 and Johnny De Oliveira, 21, by the presiding judge.
READ MORE: Stunning verdict in dangerous driving causing death trial
The families of the victims were stunned by the outcome, and De Oliveira’s father called Hecimovic a coward, who would not own up to what she had done.
In October 2010, Hecimovic was driving on the Lougheed Highway in Pitt Meadows when she skidded sideways over a concrete median near Harris Road, flipped, and slammed into the roof of the young couple’s Suzuki Swift, killing them.
Hecimovic was going at 130 km/hr in an 80 km/hr zone. She also went into the right turning lane, thinking it was a straight-through lane and ran a red light.
The judge dismissed both counts of dangerous driving causing death, ruling that it was a tragic accident that wasn’t outside of normal driving on that road. The judge’s ruling also said Hecimovic was “just having a bad day” as a nurse at Eagle Ridge Hospital, and that she was a careless, but not a dangerous driver.
Hecimovic walked out with no conditional sentence or a probation.
The Crown appealed the surprising decision and were granted a re-trial in 2014, which is set to begin this morning.
Hecimovic tried to quash her re-trial in the Supreme Court of Canada, but was not successful.
~With files from Paula Baker and Ted Chernecki
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