Semi driver found not criminally responsible in fatal crash gets 6 months for fleeing to Paraguay

The semi-truck driver who fled to Paraguay after being charged in a fatal head-on collision has been found not criminally responsible by a Manitoba court. 

Randolf Enns, 37, admitted to causing the fatal crash, but argued his schizophrenia made him not criminally responsible. The Crown challenged that, arguing there was no proof Enns was suffering from a psychotic episode at the time.

Provincial court judge Catherine Carlson said evidence from a doctor who completed a psychiatric assessment of Enns, and from witnesses before and after the collision, convinced her that Enns' actions were those of "someone who is mentally ill [and] was in the throes of an episode."

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Enns was charged with dangerous driving and resisting arrest after the semi he was driving crashed into a pickup truck on the Trans-Canada Highway just outside Winnipeg, killing 21-year-old Derek Bossuyt in July 2013.

Enns' semi-truck sped through two red lights and crossed the median, slamming into an oncoming truck near Headingley, Man.

After the crash, witnesses described Enns running around and yelling. When police arrived on scene minutes later, Enns told an officer to go away and said "I don't want to talk to you ... You can worship me."

Enns continued to wander around and mutter in a foreign language until police officers arrested him and took him to hospital. 

After the ruling, members of Bossuyt's family took a moment alone in the courtroom with the Crown attorney, Manoja Moorthy. 

When they left the courtroom, they told CBC News they were disappointed but not surprised. They said they weren't looking for punishment, but they were hoping to get justice.

Breached court orders

Enns also pleaded guilty to breaching two court orders, one for not showing up to a scheduled court date and one for not being at the British Columbia residence where he was required to live.

Enns did not show up for the scheduled court appearance in October 2014, and CBC News later found him living in Paraguay, where he holds dual citizenship.

The Crown prosecutor told court that when Enns took off to Paraguay it caused a significant delay that left Bossuyt's family with five anniversaries of his death, five Christmas holidays and five birthdays where there was no justice or closure.

"They have not been properly able to grieve," Moorthy said, because Enns left the victim's family "in a limbo."

The defence said Enns went to Paraguay to deal with an ailing mother-in-law, but Moorthy said that felt like a "slap in the face" for Bossuyt's family, because he left them without their beloved family member. 

Enns received a six-month sentence for missing court, but his time already served will count toward that sentence. He has been in custody since his return to Canada in November 2016. 

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Judge Carlson gave Enns the opportunity to speak. He spoke for about a minute, extending his condolences to the family. 

"It's beyond my understanding. It's terrible," he said.

While he was speaking, members of Bossuyt's family walked out of the courtroom. They later came back in.

Court previously heard from the doctor who completed a psychiatric assessment of Enns. The doctor said Enns had been first diagnosed as having schizoaffective disorder in 2008. Enns was admitted to hospital again in 2009 and 2012, showing symptoms of schizophrenia.

Moorthy had argued that although the collision might have triggered a psychotic episode after the crash, there was no evidence to show Enns was ill in the hours or days prior.

Enns is expected to go before a mental health review board within 45 days.