There appears to be some progress being made in the case of a Richmond cyclist who was killed on Sea Island just over two years ago.
According to Ron Mahy — whose daughter Christy, 36, was struck on July 30, 2014 by a car as she waited to cross onto Russ Baker Way from the Dinsmore Bridge — police told him their investigation has concluded and that the matter is now awaiting approval of a charge by the Crown.
Mahy, a former long-time Richmond resident, told the News that just days after a memorial ride he organized to mark the second anniversary of Christy’s death, he received a phone call from the investigating officer in the case, who informed him of the development.
“He said that they (RCMP) had passed on the information to the prosecution to see if there was enough evidence to charge this fellow with (causing death by dangerous driving),” Mahy said.
Mahy added despite the new information, he feels frustrated by the length of time police have taken to get to this point.
“This has been a fight for two years for them to do this,” Mahy said. “And the only reason it was done was because some heat was put on them.
“How come, just two days after the ride and the story about this being in the paper two weeks in a row, they finally decided to maybe move ahead with this a little bit?”
For their part, both the Crown and RCMP remain tight-lipped on the matter.
In an email from the Richmond RCMP, detachment spokesman Cpl. Dennis Hwang told the News the force remains committed to the investigation and to keeping the family informed about the status of the investigation moving forward.
In an email to the News, Crown spokesman Gordon Comer said it does not normally comment on whether investigative files have been submitted to Crown counsel for charge assessment or not.
“I can say that sometimes it is an iterative (repeated) process, as there are occasions where a file is returned to the police for follow-up,” he added. “I can also say that we do try to keep in touch with victims and apprise them of any important decisions we make on a file.”
The lack of official confirmation of progress in the case has left Mahy feeling bewildered by the investigative and legal processes that could still result in no charges being laid.
“If there’s not enough evidence to charge the person, what is going to happen? What about all of those eye witnesses who were sitting there in that intersection at three o’clock in the afternoon, watching my daughter get killed. What does that mean – nothing?
“You know, it’s not a matter of being pissed off, it’s the absolute frustration that very little has happened with this case.
“Do I have to go and spend $10,000 on a lawyer to see these proceedings followed up?”
