A trial date is to be set next week for a Duncan woman charged with impaired driving in a fatal crash on the Malahat two years ago.
Sara Thomas is charged with impaired driving causing the death of David Tilley, a 46-year-old Vancouver man, and impaired driving causing bodily harm to his wife, Justine Tilley, on June 9, 2018. Thomas is also charged with dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm. The charges were sworn in July 2019.
The trial date is to be set in Duncan provincial court on May 19. The original dates for a 15-day trial this spring were cancelled because of the COVID-19 virus.
Tilley is the son of Ruth and Bruce Tilley, a councillor in St. John’s Newfoundland for 20 years. He was driving south on the Malahat when his vehicle was struck head-on by an oncoming vehicle at about 1 p.m., about 3.5 kilometres south of the Malahat summit just north of Aspen Road. His wife was in the passenger seat and received serious injuries.
At the time, West Shore RCMP said the woman driving the other car was also injured. The crash closed the highway for several hours.
The West Shore RCMP traffic unit and the RCMP South Island traffic services collision analyst investigated the crash.
