Jasper and Hinton RCMP were not criminally responsible for a fatal crash on Highway 16 that followed a high speed pursuit through Hinton last November, according to the province’s investigative team.

The verdict comes after the province’s investigative team concluded a six month investigation into the incident. 

“The (RCMP) were faced with a very difficult situation. To follow was dangerous, and to let the vehicle go was also dangerous,” Clifton Purvis, executive director of the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team said.

On Nov. 19, Steven Kenyon, 21, was seen driving a minivan erratically eastbound on Highway 16. Jasper traffic RCMP members saw the van and attempted to pull Kenyon over. The minivan sped off and the Jasper officer alerted Hinton RCMP about the vehicle.

Hinton RCMP spotted the minivan in Hinton and began to close in. At that point, the vehicle quickly slammed on its breaks, then sped down Highway 16 into oncoming traffic, reaching 180 kms/hr. The RCMP decided to chase the vehicle. 

“The decision to follow with their lights on was not negligent. In my interviews, two separate civilians said they took evasive action because they saw the lights flashing, avoiding a collision,” Purvis said.

Brad Kerfoot, 30, was not so fortunate. He was driving his truck, returning home from his job in the oilfield when he collided head-on with the mini-van, which proved fatal for both drivers. A large explosion prevented emergency responders from extracting the drivers.

Purvis said his job is to determine if there was criminal negligence. He said that didn’t occur in this situation.

“Our role is to determine if they acted lawfully and see if they should be charged,” Purvis said.

If the officers were negligent, hypothetically that would be determined in a civil trial, he said.

High speed chases resulted in three of ASIRT’s 56 yearly investigations into police matters last year, Purvis said.

Thirty-six individuals were interviewed for the investigation, including Jasper Sergeant Dave Maludzinski. Sgt. Maludzinski was the pursuit co-ordinator in the incident. Pursuit co-ordinators handle several factors in police chases, allowing the RCMP officer to concentrate on driving. He said there is a checklist of conditions that must be met before an officer engages in a high speed chase.

“There has to be a reason to chase. It depends on public safety. We ask ‘If we let this person continue, will he or she endanger the public.’”

Road conditions, weather and traffic are some of the conditions considered in such chases, Sgt. Maludzinski said.

Every detachment has a pursuit policy, and Sgt. Maludzinski says the local policy is ‘more strict’ than others, particularly because wildlife can be a factor in the National Park. Cst. Danny Knight was the first officer to see the stolen van, and he followed the driver, however a chase wasn’t justified at that time, Sgt. Maludzinski said.

Purvis will make recommendations to the RCMP following his investigation, but those recommendations will not be made public, he said.