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Charges laid in fatal 2013 crash

Linda Enoksen, 57, has been charged with six counts relating back to a deadly single-vehicle crash from Nov. 30, 2013.

Charges have been laid in a fatal collision near Fruitvale from over a year ago.

Linda Enoksen, 57, has been charged with six counts relating back to a deadly single-vehicle crash from Nov. 30, 2013.

The incident took place just south of Fruitvale on Highway 3B. The vehicle, driven by Enoksen, was travelling east on the highway when it failed to negotiate a curve in the road and went down down an embankment.

A passenger in the vehicle, Bernard Doherty, 52, from Montrose, was pronounced dead at the scene. The other two passengers, both male, were reported to have minor injuries.

Enoksen received serious injuries in the collision and was listed as being in serious condition.

She has been charged with impaired driving causing death, impaired driving causing bodily harm, driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over .08 causing death, driving with a BAC over .08 causing bodily harm, dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm.

The investigation took over a year to complete, but according to Sgt. John Ferguson of the West Kootenay Traffic Services in Nelson, that length of time isn't unusual.

“It is usually at least six months before we get the collision analyst report, which is the technical and physical evidence at the scene,” he said. “Once that happens, and all the witness statements are in, the case goes to Crown counsel and they look at it.”

When the Crown receives the case for consideration, it can take up to three months, plus more information gathering, before a charge is laid. There are three levels of Crown counsel the case has to go through before anything is final.

Ferguson says the system is designed to make sure that the charges can be proven in a court of law.

“You can know that you child took that cookie, but you might not necessarily be able to prove it,” he said. “Sometimes you know what happened, but proving it in front of a court is not always easy. You have to get all of your ducks in a line before heading to court.”

Enoksen is scheduled to appear in Rossland court on Jan. 8.