More than three months after a truck driver reportedly struck four pedestrians participating in a residential school march in Mission, B.C., police have sent a package of evidence to prosecutors.
RCMP have been largely silent about their investigation into the June 4 incident, during which the 77-year-old driver of a blue pickup truck is said to have driven into marchers on the eastbound lane of the Lougheed Highway, causing several injuries.
The evidence was sent to the BC Prosecution Service for assessment last week, police said Monday.
“We understand that this has been a trying time for those affected by this incident, and we appreciate their patience and understanding,” wrote Const. Harrison Mohr in a news release.
“Our investigators have been working with all of the victims and witnesses who came forward, to try to provide the best evidence possible to the BC Prosecution Service.”
Police declined to reveal what kind of charges could be laid against the driver, who identified himself to them after the incident. His truck was seized as evidence, but he was not taken into custody.
Two people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries after altercation at the second annual March for Recognition for Residential Schools, organized by the Crazy Indians Brotherhood BC. Participants made their way from Heritage Park to the site of the former St. Mary’s Residential School, temporarily blocking the eastbound lane of the highway.
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Andrew Martin of the Crazy Indians Brotherhood BC described Tuesday’s news as a “baby step” in the quest for justice for all impacted by the incident.
“We are very hopeful Crown counsel will take this seriously and we are hopeful the package has be done well enough to approve appropriate charges in this case,” he told Global News.
Shortly after the incident, Mounties described said the truck driver as “impatient.” Troy Ingraldi, who was doing traffic control for the march at the time, said the man had been honking his horn and trying to get around other cars in the lane.
“He came up on us and he was driving really fast so I jumped out in front and was like, ‘Stop, stop, stop,’ and he stopped and he got out and he started yelling and screaming,” Ingraldi told Global News on June 4.
Police said they had been called to the march by a bystander after it “appeared as though a fight was about to break out.” By the time they arrived, the driver had already allegedly struck the participants.
Ingraldi said the man got out of his truck and yelled at him, saying the group should get off the road and let traffic through. When he told the man to be patient, he said the driver became further enraged.
“He was like, ‘I’ll run everyone down on this highway if I want to,’ and like maybe 50 yards in front of me we had small children from the ages of two all the way up to 14.”
Ingraldi said when the man got back into his truck, he stepped in front of the vehicle to stop him. The man then drove through him, knocking him to the ground, he said.
“He started screaming and yelling more, and then he took off again, and children and women and some brotherhood guys had to jump out of the way,” he said.
Mission RCMP later responded to the scene and confirmed that the driver made “contact with approximately four persons.”
Police said Monday no timeline is in place for the charge assessment period and no further information about the investigation would be released during the process.
It described the investigation as “quite complex,” involving many victim and witness statements, along with cell phone video clips.
— with files from Simon Little
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