‘She said she wasn’t speeding:’ trial begins for fatal Nanaimo area construction zone crash

Witness Dwayne Carson, who was driving his car directly ahead of the alleged driver at the time, answered questions from Crown prosecutor Nick Barber at BC Supreme Court in Nanaimo on Monday, July 28 before justice Douglas Thompson.

“Lots of signage, lots of lights, lots of safety cones and whatnot,” Carson said in describing the late-night construction scene during his approach.

Carson said a full crew of pavers wearing high visibility clothing were working on the highway’s right-hand slow lane.

Ferguson and Toews were both standing at the base of a skid steer “off to the right” just prior to being hit, Carson told the trial.

Toews was had a ‘SLOW’ sign with one hand and an illuminated directional wand in another, Carson added.

The witness said his 1950’s Ford car was hit by a trailing vehicle, which then proceeded south down the highway and until it rammed into a dump truck.

Carson said he didn’t see Ferguson being hit in his rearview mirror, but he recalled how the injured flagger reacted.

“Where’s the car that hit me!” Toews yelled during the chaotic turn of events.

Carson got out of his car and saw an unresponsive Ferguson lying on the pavement with his eyes rolled back.

The detail hit a nerve with family and supporters of Ferguson, including the victim’s daughter who welled up in tears in the courtroom gallery, while Boufford sat motionless in the prisoner’s box.

Ironically, Carson recognized Ferguson and knew him on a first-name basis after hiring Hub City Paving for a prior job.

Carson then approached the suspect vehicle.

“She was trying to get out and I said, ‘Stay in your car.’”

Surveillance footage from a neighbouring business showed what’s alleged to be Boufford’s car traveling at a high rate of speed through the construction zone.

Gasps of disbelief in the courtroom could be heard when the video was shown.

Ferguson’s widow is attending the trial virtually.

The area construction zone speed limit was 60 kilometers an hour at the time, 30 kilometers an hour slower than usual.

A roadside memorial for Raymond Ferguson is located on a rockface on the Trans Canada highway’s southbound lanes between Kipp and Minetown roads. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Nanaimo RCMP Cst. Steven Butler responded to the collision a few minutes before midnight.

Describing the road as dry and weather conditions clear, Cst. Bulter stopped his car with lights on in advance of the crash scene and walked into the construction zone in order to avoid disturbing potential evidence.

A construction worker then handed Cst. Butler car keys belonging to the alleged suspect driver.

Butler testified he then saw paramedics tending to one of the injured workers.

The officer approached the damaged single-occupant suspect vehicle which had been wedged into the back of a dump truck.

Damage featured a smashed windshield and scrape on a rear driver side panel.

He confirmed the driver’s identity as Christanne Boufford, who made the admission verbally to the officer, while she also complied by handing over her driver’s license.

“She said she wasn’t speeding,” Butler told the trial.

Boufford was slurring her speech throughout their interaction, according to Cst. Butler, leading to his suspicions she was intoxicated.

Earlier this year Boufford’s legal team successfully argued for charges to be tossed due to several errors by Cst. Butler.

Breath samples obtained on scene and at the Nanaimo RCMP detachment were deemed inadmissible because the general duty officer did not make Boufford’s custodial status clear at the outset.

Numerous breaches under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms were illuminated by defence counsel, which justice Thompson agreed were infringements on the accused.

As a result, charges of impaired driving causing death, and impaired driving causing bodily harm were wiped out.

However, justice Thompson concluded evidence from on-scene witnesses were still valid, allowing the trial to proceed.

Boufford’s trial is scheduled to last one week.

Several more Crown witnesses are scheduled to testify, including an RCMP collision reconstruction expert.

Defence attorney Dale Melville stated their case will take at least a full day to present.

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by Ian Holmes

‘She said she wasn’t speeding:’ trial begins for fatal Nanaimo area construction zone crash

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