A Hamilton Township, Ont., man has pleaded guilty to several charges following a fatal collision south of Peterborough in August 2021.
The collision on Hwy. 28 on Aug. 6 claimed the life of 19-year-old Neil Henley of Roseneath, Ont., and seriously injured three others.
The agreed statement of facts show a southbound car with five occupants on County Road 28 travelling 162 km/h, when the 20-year-old driver attempted to pass a pickup truck that had slowed to make a left turn. The two vehicles collided.
Peterborough County OPP reported Henley was pronounced dead at the scene while three other passengers in the car suffered serious injuries, two of them taken to hospital in Toronto. No one was injured in the pickup.
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit also investigated the collision as a Peterborough Police Service officer was conducting radar patrol at the time and attempted a short pursuit of the vehicle.
In December 2021, the investigation cleared the officer who clocked the car travelling 100 kilometres per in the 80 km/h zone. The officer ended the pursuit when the vehicle went “out of sight,” the SIU report concluded. A short time later the officer came upon the collision.
The SIU says investigators determined the car involved was travelling about 160 kilometres per hour for at least “four or five seconds” prior to the collision as it passed a vehicle equipped with a dash camera.
The driver was charged in November 2021 with multiple charges.
In court in Peterborough last week on Oct. 20, the driver of the car, Hunter Smith, pleaded guilty to the following charges:
- operating a conveyance causing death
- three counts of operating a conveyance causing bodily harm
- operate a motor vehicle or vessel while being pursued by a peace officer
- failed to stop the motor vehicle or vessel as soon as was reasonable in the circumstances
Smith is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 31, 2023.
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