By Canadian Press

ICBC sorry for suggesting deceased B.C. Mountie liable for on duty deadly crash

Dec 21, 2019 | 5:38 PM

VICTORIA — The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia is apologizing for suggested a deceased Mountie was liable for the on-duty crash that claimed her life.

The Crown-owned insurer says it will immediately instruct its lawyers in a civil court case to ensure Const. Sarah Beckett is not blamed for the April 2016 crash in which the mother of two died.

Beckett died when her marked police vehicle was struck broadside during a police pursuit of a suspected impaired driver in the suburban Victoria community of Langford.

Kenneth Jacob Fenton pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing death and dangerous driving causing death and was sentenced to four years in prison.  

The Attorney General of Canada launched a civil suit against Fenton in March 2018 seeking special damages for the loss and damage to the police vehicle Beckett was driving.

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ICBC filed a response to the civil suit last spring, saying the crash was caused by Beckett’s negligence, but the public insurer now says that is an error.

“We’re deeply sorry,” a statement from ICBC says. “Clearly, the decision to suggest Constable Beckett was liable for this collision in the initial legal documents was a mistake and we are taking immediate steps to fix this error. We will be instructing our counsel to amend that defence to admit the defendant is fully liable for this accident.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 21, 2019.

The Canadian Press