Charges laid in this crash from last August have been conditionally stayed by the Crown Prosecutor. (Susan McNeil/paNOW)

By Susan McNeil

Diefenbaker Bridge crash

Charges stayed after bridge crash incident

Mar 21, 2024 | 5:00 PM

Charges have been conditionally stayed against the man accused of causing a multi-vehicle collision on the Diefenbaker Bridge last August.

Jeremy Miller, 29, was subsequently charged with impaired driving and several other offences.

A provincial court judge has now directed those charges to be stayed until the Crown meets several conditions.

To bring the matter back, the Crown must share video from one of the responding police cars that was not provided previously along with a statement from a potential witness identified in a different officer’s notes.

The judge also directed the Crown to give Miller two weeks notice if they intend to revive the proceedings.

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On Aug. 16, 2023, police were called to the bridge where a red Dodge Ram pickup was pinned between the bridge wall and a camper. The pickup was in the wrong lane and witnesses told paNOW that it had been speeding up to 100 kms/hour before it jumped the median and entered the wrong lane.

Traffic backed up on the blocked lane, forcing at least one of the responding members of PAPS to park and the end of the bridge and walk to the scene.

Miller was given a roadside sobriety test on an approved device, arrested and taken to that car and driven to the station.

Video of him in the backseat was missing from the disclosure package given to defence was were the notes of another officer, who had been on the job for about six months.

PAPS cars are installed with video and audio recording equipment that automatically turns on when someone sits in the backseat.

The video from the car was not specifically requested by Miller’s lawyer but disclosure of evidence in general was requested in early September.

The officer initially thought there would be no usable video as the car was too far to pick up any of the actions at the crash site.

It was on March 1, the day of the trial, that the Crown realized their evidence did not include the car video. It was also revealed that the second officer’s notes might contain the name of a civilian witness but he did not remember to provide the notes until the day before the trial.

Those issues caused enough prejudice to the accused to warrant a conditional stay but were not enough to require an outright stay or dismissal .

In their ruling, the judge said the stay can be lifted once the missing evidence has been dealt with.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com