A Winnipeg man has admitted he was driving at least 159 km/h seconds before a fatal hit-and-run collision with a 61-year-old cyclist that sparked demands for greater bike safety on city streets.
Nineteen-year-old Beckham Severight pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and leaving the scene of an accident for an early morning June 6 collision that claimed the life of Rob Jenner. The victim was cycling along Wellington Crescent on his way to work at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
Gasps could be heard from the court gallery, which included more than a dozen members of the city’s cycling community, when Crown attorney Matt Dueck revealed Severight had been driving at least 159 km/h immediately prior to the collision. The posted speed limit at the location is 50 km/h.
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The driver who caused the hit-and-run death of cyclist Rob Jenner will be sentenced at a later date. Jenner was hit by the vehicle Beckham Severight was driving in the area of Wellington Crescent and Hugo St. in June.
“We’ve all had close calls, people not giving us enough space, (but) this was entirely another level of blatant disregard for safety,” cycling advocate and Bike Winnipeg board member Ian McCausland said outside court.
“You talk to anybody who rides a bike, you realize drivers in this city are routinely going too fast,” he said. “It is just unimaginable to think of a car travelling that fast on our city’s streets. It took everybody aback to hear those details today.”
According to an agreed statement of facts provided to court, the morning of the collision, Severight had asked his roommate, Lyle Barker-Young, if he could take his leased 2013 BMW sedan out for a drive. Severight had only a learner’s permit. Barker-Young, 18, had a valid licence and accompanied Severight, but did not qualify as a supervising driver.
Shortly before 7 a.m., Severight was driving eastbound on Wellington Crescent in the curbside lane, when he “rapidly accelerated his speed” as he rounded a curve near the intersection of Hugo Street, Dueck told court, reading from the agreed statement of facts.
Jenner was up ahead, cycling in the same lane.
“There was nothing remarkable about his movements,” Dueck said. “He was safely and responsibly travelling in the eastbound curb lane on a route that is regularly utilized by cyclists.”
Severight saw Jenner and tried to avoid a collision, but lost control of the vehicle and went into a skid before crashing into the back tire of Jenner’s bicycle, sending him crashing onto the car’s hood.
“Witnesses described the deceased as being thrown no less than 10 feet into the air before his body came to rest just off the roadway,” Dueck said.
“It took everybody aback to hear those details today.”–Ian McCausland, Bike Winnipeg board member
Barker-Young told Severight not to stop and he drove away before stopping a short time later for Barker-Young to take the driver’s seat.
Jenner was taken to hospital and was pronounced dead 30 minutes later.
Witnesses called police with a description of Severight’s vehicle and the two men were arrested later that morning in a common area of their Talbot Avenue apartment building.
Taken into custody, Severight provided police “a full account of the incident,” telling investigators he saw green lights and open roadway before he hit the accelerator, knowing the speed limit was 50 km/h.
Defence lawyer Mike Cook asked that sentencing be adjourned, pending the preparation of a Gladue report examining his family history and experience as an Indigenous person.
Severight remains in custody. He has never applied for bail. A date for sentencing has not been set.
McCausland said cycling advocates will continue to watch the case closely.
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Police officers investigated the fatal crash along Wellington Crescent between Hugo and Dorchester Streets.
There is no dedicated bike lane where the collision occurred.
“We continue to advocate for that missing link in our bike network,” McCausland said. “There are brand new bike lanes on River and Stradbrook and Wellington … but that stretch of Wellington has eluded us in convincing the city that it needs to be dealt with.”
Barker-Young has been charged with one count of leaving the scene of an accident. He remains before the court.
dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca
Dean Pritchard
Courts reporter
Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. Read more about Dean.
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