BC Prosecution Service says offences in fatal 2023 TRU crash won't be upgraded to charges

The BC Prosecution Service (BCPS) has announced that Motor Vehicle Act (MVA) violations won’t be upgraded to criminal charges in a crash that killed a Thompson Rivers University student and seriously injured two others.

The crash on McGill road happened on Nov. 29, 2023 and on Friday, the BCPS announced they would be pursuing the MVA offence of driving without due care and attention and driving without reasonable consideration for others against the driver.

About a month after the tragic crash, Owyn McInnis was identified as the student killed in the crash.

Two of his teammates who were also in the vehicle at the time, Kelowna products Owen Waterhouse and Riley Brinnen, were critically injured in the crash

All three were on the university’s volleyball team.

According to the BCPS’s release issued Friday, the decision to continue with the MVA offences was made after a “senior-level review” of the charge assessment.

“The Regional Crown Counsel for the Interior region has now reviewed this matter, including the investigative file and applicable law, and concluded that MVA charges are the only charges that meet the BCPS charge assessment standard, and that the charge assessment decision was made with diligence and objectivity,” the BCPS statement said.

The BCPS said facts reported in the media and shared publicly are “incomplete and present only a partial picture of what had to be considered.”

Both the BCPS and RCMP have said they won’t disclose any other information or details.

However, the first court date is set for Dec. 23 at the Kamloops Law Courts.