A driver is suing a Whitehorse firefighter and the city over a collision between her vehicle and fire truck that left her with serious injuries.
In a statement of claim filed to the Yukon Supreme Court Nov. 29, Lisa Gallant-McRobb alleges that negligence on the part of the firefighter driving the truck, Torey Wiebe, caused the Jan. 22 crash.
She also alleges that the City of Whitehorse, as Wiebe’s employer, is vicariously liable for the incident.
The claims have not been tested in court.
According to the lawsuit, Gallant-McRobb was driving westbound on Robert Service Way and approaching the Alaska Highway around 10:45 a.m. on Jan. 22 when a fire truck travelling southbound on the highway, being driven by Wiebe, collided with her.
Then-fire chief Mike Dine had told the News at the time that the truck had been responding to a call about a fire in Whitehorse Copper, an area near Meadow Lake Golf Club.
The crash, which also involved two other vehicles, left Gallant-McRobb with a concussion, a broken leg and ankle, fractured ribs, a dislocated shoulder, “soft issue injuries” and headaches, the statement of claim says.
The lawsuit alleges that negligence on the part of Wiebe, including failing to use the truck’s siren, driving at an excessive rate of speed “in all the circumstances,” failing to keep a proper lookout and driving without due care and attention caused the crash.
It also claims that as Wiebe was in his role as an employee of the city at the time of the crash, the City of Whitehorse is vicariously liable for what happened.
Gallant-McRobb is seeking compensation for “non-pecuniary loss” (which are losses that aren’t measured monetarily, like pain and suffering), loss of income and special damages, among other things.
Neither Wiebe nor the city have filed a response yet.
Reached for comment Dec. 4, Whitehorse Fire Department acting chief Chris Green said he hadn’t seen the lawsuit yet.
City spokesperson Myles Dolphin said in an email Dec. 5 that the city “maintains insurance for these kinds of situations but ultimately we do not comment on lawsuits.”
The city has already shelled out cash in relation to the crash; the fire truck, tanker unit 5511, was totalled in the incident and written off by the city’s insurance company.
City council voted back in March to amend the capital budget to allow for the purchase of a replacement unit at the cost of $333,000 before tax so that the fire department could maintain services. The department had rented a tanker at the cost of $1 a day to fill in its fleet while it waited for the new truck to arrive.
With files from Crystal Schick
Contact Jackie Hong at jackie.hong@yukon-news.com