Local guys say this kid was either trying to drift or street race. Either way it’s fucked up:
“It looked like it was happening in slow motion,” he said. “He basically never had control (of the car) the whole time he was on Albert.”
The Nissan jumped the curb not far from the intersection and struck the woman and man standing about two metres away from him.
…
The man suffered multi-system trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics after Ottawa police dragged him out from underneath the car, said paramedic operations Supt. Steve Leu.
The woman — whom Leu confirmed was the male victim’s wife — sustained critical head injuries and multi-system trauma. Advanced care paramedics used “aggressive resuscitation measures” at the scene and en route to the trauma unit at The Ottawa Hospital’s Civic campus.
…
Horeczy said the driver of the car, who was unharmed, got out of the car and said: “I don’t know what happened. I can’t believe I lost control.”
“And a few people said, ‘You were driving like a bloody idiot. I know how to drive, and you were driving like a bloody idiot,’ ” Horeczy said. “He said, ‘I can’t understand how this happened. I can’t understand how this happened.’ ”
Horeczy said the driver appeared to be “a young kid” in his early 20s.
agree with martino. regardless of the actual cause, because of what type of car he was driving and the age of the driver police will MOST LIKELY assume “street racing / stunt driving” was involved.
they did say his blood/alcohol level was > 0 though. it was wet too, i assume he fishtailed out of a corner on his way back from a bar or something and didn’t get any control back until it was too late. must really suck living knowing you killed a man
must not have been above the legal limit otherwise id assume it would be known. Maybe it was just a horrible accident but it def doesnt look good for this kid either way.
The alcohol charge is some new law apparently, but I don’t know how they got “stunt driving” from just what they were told;
Car fishtailed, witnesses say
Witnesses reported seeing a black Nissan driving at what appeared to be high speeds on Bank Street moments before the crash. Roads were wet and slick at the time.
Horeczy told CTV Ottawa the driver fishtailed and lost control of his vehicle before slamming into the couple.
“His car was going back and forth and back and forth,” he said.
He added the driver appeared to be in shock following the collision, and was unable to comprehend what had just happened.
“He didn’t try to run away or anything. I think he was more in shock, like what have I done? What have I done? What have I done? Like what’s transpired here?”
Six charges
Simon Banke, an Ottawa man, is facing six charges in connection with the crash. He is charged with:
* Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death
* Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm
* Criminal negligence causing death
* Criminal negligence causing bodily harm
* Stunt racing
* Young driver with blood alcohol level higher than zero
The alcohol-related offence is in accordance with a new law that came into effect in August requiring drivers 21 and younger to have zero alcohol before getting behind the wheel.
As for the stunt driving charges, Ottawa police say they have laid fewer of those offences this year compared to previous years.
Ottawa police laid 21 stunt driving charges between January and August of this year. In 2009, a total of 76 stunt driving charges were laid.