Samuel Alec, charged in fatal Pemberton cyclist crash, appears at bail hearing
The driver faces a number of charges after the crash that killed three people
Samuel Alec, who was charged following the vehicle-cyclist collision that killed three people near Pemberton, B.C. in May, attended a bail hearing on Monday.
Paul Pierre Jr., a passenger in the vehicle and cyclists Ross Chafe, 50, and Kelly Blunden, 53, were all killed in the crash.
Alec, charged with criminal negligence causing death, impaired driving causing death, driving with a blood alcohol level over 0.08 and failing to stay at the scene of the accident, appeared in court wearing a neck brace.
An older model Cavalier crossed the Duffy Lake Road centre line and plowed into the cyclists in the accident.
Details of the hearing can't be reported because of a publication ban.
- Samuel Alec charged in fatal cyclist crash in Pemberton
- 2 Whistler cyclists, 1 passenger killed in crash north of Pemberton
'An avoidable tragedy'
About 15 people from Lillooet First Nation were in the gallery for the hearing in the North Vancouver Provincial Court as were some family and friends of Alec and Pierre Jr. Alec is from the First Nation and so was Pierre Jr.
A woman who only identified herself as Pierre Jr.'s sister was also in the court.
"It was an avoidable tragedy. I think that's pretty much all I can say right now," she said. "It's just very hard for us."
Alec has a lengthy criminal record including at least three convictions for impaired driving.
With files from Belle Puri