More than one year after a Vancouver Island man was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver, two Parksville area men have been arrested and charged.
Ryan John Grob, 35, is accused of impaired driving causing death, dangerous driving causing death, failing to stop at the scene of a collision resulting in death, and wilfully attempting to obstruct, pervert, or defeat the course of justice by giving a false statement to police.
His alleged passenger, 31-year-old Travis Zackery Taylor, is also charged with willfully attempting to obstruct, pervert, or defeat the course of justice by giving a false statement to police.
Thirty-two-year-old Spencer Alexander Moore’s body was discovered in the 200-block of Hirst Avenue in Parksville in the early hours of Aug. 24, 2019.
The driver who struck Moore around 2:30 a.m. fled the scene, leaving him to die in the middle of the road.
Hours after the deadly hit-and-run collision, Oceanside RCMP seized a black 1999 Ford F-250 with a lift kit.
Police also recovered surveillance footage of the truck leaving the area just before Moore was fatally struck.
After what RCMP describe as a “lengthy, complex investigation,” charges were sworn against Grob and Taylor on Oct. 16.
Grob, who according to court documents has a business named Affordable Tree Care, was released on $7,500 bail on Oct. 28. He must abide by 12 conditions including 24-hour house arrest at his father’s home in Errington, not consuming alcohol or drugs without a prescription, staying out of liquor stores, bars and pubs, not occupying the driver’s seat of any vehicle, and not contacting or communicating with his co-accused and 20 other people.
Grob is also charged with driving while prohibited in connection with an alleged incident near Qualicum Beach on Sept. 19. His next scheduled court appearance is Nov. 10 in Nanaimo.
Taylor was released from custody on Oct. 17 on a release order with no financial obligation. His next court date is scheduled for Dec. 15.