No criminal charges in Edmonton LRT deaths

The Edmonton Police Service Homicide Section has concluded its investigation and deemed the deaths of the two adults struck by the LRT train to be non-criminal.

“We have determined that these deaths were non-criminal,” said Dave Spiers, Staff Sergeant of the EPS Homicide Section. “We cannot speculate on why these two individuals were on the tracks, or comment on the evidence gathered, but we can say that this was a very thorough investigation and we received a tremendous amount of cooperation from everyone involved.”

The EPS Homicide Section was called in to investigate whether the deaths were criminal after reports that the male and female were involved in an altercation before being struck by the train. The investigation was assisted by the Medical Examiner’s Office and the City of Edmonton’s Transportation Department.

The Medical Examiner’s Office conducted autopsies on the two adults on November 10, 2010.

Background:

A group of six adults were walking east of a marked LRT crossing at 82 Street and 113 Avenue at approximately 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday, November 9, 2010, when a northbound LRT train struck a man and woman who were stopped on the tracks. Edmonton emergency services responded after receiving a 911 call from the LRT operator. A 19-year-old male was struck by the LRT and pronounced dead on the scene, and a 19-year-old female was transported to hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries and died. There were no other reported injuries in the group. Victim Services attended the scene to provide support to witnesses, family and emergency responders throughout the evening. The EPS Homicide Section was called in to investigate whether the deaths were criminal and interviewed witnesses and examined evidence.