A 34-year-old Délı̨nę man has been charged with impaired driving causing death after a 62-year-old female pedestrian was struck by a vehicle in downtown Yellowknife last week.
At approximately 5 p.m. on September 27th, Yellowknife RCMP were dispatched to a report of a collision between a vehicle and a pedestrian on Franklin Avenue near 50th Street.
The severely injured female pedestrian was taken to hospital and later pronounced deceased.
Constable Josh Seaward speaks for the Northwest Territories RCMP.
“Investigation led to officers formulating grounds to believe the driver of the vehicle was intoxicated,” he stated in a release, noting the driver was arrested at the scene.
As a result of the investigation, Brent Taniton of Délı̨nę has been charged with:
Operation while impaired of a conveyance and operation while impaired of a conveyance causing death.
He has appeared before a Justice of the Peace and was released, next appearing in Yellowknife Territorial Court on October 29th.
He is to be considered innocent until the charges can be tested in court
This matter remains under investigation in partnership with the Office of the Chief Coroner.
The Yellowknife RCMP believe there are witnesses to this tragic occurrence and are asking anyone with information to contact the Yellowknife RCMP at 867-669-1111 or Crime Stoppers at p3tips.com.
Officers are specifically requesting anyone with video or photos of the accident or the moments leading up to it to come forward to police.
This could include cellphone video or photos, dashcam footage or businesses with exterior video footage in the area of 50th Street and Franklin Avenue and the downtown liquor store.
