A Whitehorse RCMP officer and the Attorney General of Canada have filed a response to a lawsuit by a woman claiming a crash between a police vehicle and the SUV she was riding in left her with long-term injuries.
Whitehorse woman Carolynne McCrea filed a statement of claim to the Yukon Supreme Court April 15, alleging that the negligence of Const. Pierre Wideman caused the Jan. 15 crash between his police cruiser and the SUV she was riding in at the Robert Service Way roundabout. The lawsuit also claimed that the Attorney General of Canada was vicariously liable for the crash, and that McCrea had been left with long-term physical and emotional injuries.
However, a statement of defence filed May 15 denies that either Wideman or the Attorney General of Canada are liable for the crash. It notes that, in the lead-up to the incident, Wideman was “responding to a police officer’s urgent request for assistance” at the Whitehorse hospital and the police cruiser had its emergency lights activated before it collided with the back of the SUV, which was driving in the same direction as the cruiser.
“The Accident was not caused in whole or in part by the conduct of the defendants, as alleged or at all,” the document says. It also denies that McCrea suffered any injuries, but claiming that if she did, it was due to “her own negligence,” including failing to wear her seatbelt properly and failing to adjust her headrest properly.
Wideman and the Attorney General of Canada are asking for the lawsuit to be dismissed with legal costs.