The widow of a man who was killed when a Burnaby Mountie ran a red light and collided with another vehicle has been awarded more than $300,000 in damages.
Paula Haczewski filed a wrongful-death lawsuit after her husband, Albert Haczewski, 27, died when his Chevrolet Cavalier was rammed by a police cruiser driven by Const. Petina Kostiuk.
Also killed in the Cavalier was Koyo Hara, 26, a passenger in the vehicle and a lifelong friend of Albert.
At the time of the October 2007 accident, Kostiuk was responding to an emergency call of a suicidal, pregnant woman.
The officer turned on her emergency lights and sirens and entered the intersection of Royal Oak and Kingsway against a red light at high speed. She thought the intersection was clear but it wasn't and she slammed into Haczewski's vehicle.
Kostiuk was initially named as a defendant but police officers are protected from direct liability for things done during the course of their employment and the claim was dismissed against her.
But the trial proceeded with the provincial ministry of public safety and solicitor general as the named defendant.
In a ruling released Friday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Christopher Grauer found that Kostiuk was "wholly at fault" in the crash and declared that the ministry was vicariously liable for damages.
"I have no difficulty in concluding that Const. Kostiuk failed to exercise the degree of care required of a reasonable police officer, acting reasonably and under the statutory powers imposed upon her, in the circumstances she faced that night," he said in reasons for judgment.
The government lawyers claimed that Haczewski was contributorily negligent because he had smoked pot that night, which would have impaired his ability to react.
But the judge said he was unable to come to any conclusion about the extent of the impairment and in any event Albert Haczewski had no real opportunity to react, regardless of his ability to do so.
In assessing damages, the judge noted that the loss of her husband was a "devastating tragedy" for Paula Haczewski, who came to Canada from Poland with Albert in 2006.
He awarded her a total of $312,425 in damages, including $165,000 for loss of future financial support, $70,000 in loss of past financial support and $15,000 for loss of guidance.
"I emphasize that the law does not permit me to take into account the extraordinary grief and pain Paula has suffered. I am limited to assessing the loss of guidance, not the emotional consequences of his death."
The judge also awarded Albert's parents $27,000 for family compensation.
"The last four-and-a-half years have been very trying for my client," said Derek Mah, a lawyer for the family. "They're very pleased with the ruling because it clears Albert of any wrongdoing. This will help to bring some closure to this."
Kostiuk was initially criminally charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death, but in March 2011 pleaded guilty to the lesser, motor vehicle offence of driving without due care and attention and was fined $1,500.
Hara's family also filed a civil lawsuit but settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.
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