Lifeguard charged with negligence in northern Alberta drowning
A 25-year-old lifeguard has been charged following the 2020 drowning of a 34-year-old man at a Fort McMurray rec complex.
RCMP were called to MacDonald Island Park on Dec. 12, 2020, to help paramedics with a drowning in the swimming pool.
The injured man was taken to hospital and later transferred to an Edmonton facility. He died on Dec. 18, 2020.
On Tuesday, RCMP announced that after a "lengthy investigation," the lifeguard has been charged with criminal negligence causing death but an investigator in the case wouldn't explain why exactly.
"What people need to keep in mind is that sometimes criminal negligence has to do with something someone did, or on the flip side, sometimes the offence has to do with something someone omitted to do that was in their duty to do," Const. Denzil Morey told CTV News Edmonton.
Morey said witnesses, staff members and swimmers were interviewed in the case and video of the incident was collected, adding that more details will come out in court.
The accused, now a resident of Calgary, is set to appear in Fort McMurray Provincial Court on Nov. 22.
Lawyer Peter Sankoff said, generally speaking, criminal negligence is hard to prove and has to be more than just what would commonly be considered a "mistake" at work.
"It's not a matter of negligence in a sense of they did a bad job, or they are liable in a civil suit, it's gotta be more than that. To qualify as criminal negligence it's got to be a marked and substantial departure from the ordinary standard care. It's a high threshold," he explained to CTV News Edmonton.
"I don't know the facts of the case, but I'm willing to assume that the lifeguard didn't intentionally fail at what they're doing. So now you're trying to decide that limitation where bad is too bad. And that is ultimately the decision for a jury of your peers."
Sentences for criminal negligence causing death range from probation to a life sentence, Sankoff said, depending on the factors of the case and a person's history.
The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo declined to comment on the case.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Nicole Weisberg
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on using drugs in 'all public spaces,' shifting approach to decriminalization
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.