Prolific offender Kurtis Timothy, 31, was driving the wrong way on the Trans Canada Hwy just south of Nanaimo when he collided head-on with another vehicle. Timothy and the driver of an unsuspecting SUV Cliff Bishop, 54, were both pronounced dead on scene. (RCMP)

By Ian Holmes

horrific crash

Top Stories of 2019: wrong-way driver causes double fatal crash

Dec 24, 2019 | 12:49 AM

NANAIMO — 2019 began with a gut-wrenching double-fatal crash on the Trans-Canada Hwy. caused by a driver travelling the wrong way while attempting to flee police.

Kurtis Timothy, 31, was responsible for the devastating wreck.

Also killed was Cliff Bishop, 54, whose northbound SUV was traveling on the highway between the Duke Point and Cedar exits.

The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) said Timothy’s truck was traveling at 170 km/h when the early morning wreck occurred on Jan 14, 2019.

Both drivers, who were the only people involved, were pronounced dead on scene following the head-on collision.

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The IIO probed the incident to decipher if the officer who originally attempted to pull Timothy over had acted appropriately.

Three weeks later the IIO ruled the officer did the right thing by discontinuing the pursuit once Timothy entered the highway in the wrong lane. The officer turned off her emergency lights and trailed Timothy’s pickup at 90 km/h in the correct southbound lanes, while she kept dispatch updated.

By the time of the crash, the officer was more than a kilometre behind Timothy and she lost sight of him.

The IIO report said there are “strict limits” about when officers can pursue a suspect and the circumstances in this case didn’t meet the threshold.

The crash wasn’t the first time Timothy’s actions behind the wheel caused a death. The prolific offender was 19-years-old when he crashed a stolen vehicle on Hammond Bay Rd. in 2006, which killed a passenger.

Timothy pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death for the north Nanaimo incident and was sentenced to four months in jail and given a three-year driving ban.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes