DRUGS & DRIVING A DANGEROUS CONCOCTION

Two Deaths, Two Injured And Driver Sent To Jail For Hwy 21
Crash

Sherwood Park News - A double fatality on Highway 21.

Tsk, tsk. That road sure needs twinning.

Except this crash had nothing to do with the highway.

Tammy Engelking, 27, and Henry Yao, 40, were killed the morning of
Nov. 25, 2003, because James McIllwrick was impaired by drugs.

The carnage occurred when McIllwrick lost control of his Dodge Ram
just south of the Highway 16 overpass.

His pickup truck crossed the centreline and slammed head-on into the
SUV Engelking was driving.

She and Yao were carpooling to the Shell refinery with two other
co-workers, who suffered broken bones in the crash. They were all
Strathcona residents.

McIllwrick, an Edmonton resident, was also injured.

Mounties ended up charging him with two counts of impaired driving
causing death and two counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm.
Last week, the 33-year-old was found guilty of the crimes. He was
sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail.

Lit up after leaving home

McIllwrick has been described as a habitual pot smoker. That morning,
he lit a joint after leaving his home in his friend's pickup truck. He
also had Ativan, Zyprexia and Zithromax in his system.

Engelking's father, John Rudnicki, is alarmed by an apparent lack of
knowledge about the impairing ability of pot.

"What hit me was that marijuana seems to be a drug of choice and it
seems to be quite prevalent," he told the News.

While Rudnicki doesn't pass judgment on marijuana smokers, he wants to
alert them to the potential consequences of getting behind the wheel
if they've been smoking.

"Please, please think twice," he said. "If you want to use marijuana,
please don't drive."

He hopes this tragic case underlines the lesson.

"Maybe they will finally realize that this is a very, very bad
problem. It's pretty scary out there and there are too many Strathcona
residents in general getting killed in motor vehicles."

Major concern

Cpl. Peter Nobles of the Strathcona County RCMP confirms drug
impairment on the roads is a major concern.

"The police are concerned about it, whether it be marijuana, crystal
meth or abuse of prescription drugs," he said.

No roadside screening for drugs

Nobles notes that, unlike dealing with alcohol, officers don't have
road-side screening devices for testing those suspected of drug impairment.

Symptoms of gross impairment, both alcohol or drugs are fairly
obvious, he said, but determining other drug use can prove
challenging, especially with the number of substances on the streets
and their differing effects on individuals.

Police do have some tools.

For instance, they can request a search warrant to seize and test
blood.

Specialized training

The Strathcona County detachment also has a highly trained officer who
specializes in drug detection and investigation.

In dealing with the aftermath of his daughter's death, Rudnicki has
rejected anger in favour of spreading a message of awareness with the
hope it will save lives.

He supports handing police tools to investigate drug impairment and
creating a separate stream of courts to deal with drug crimes. "It's
absolutely necessary," he said.

"I think we've reached a stage where it's critical. Someone has to
start somewhere, as evidenced by these two young people needlessly
killed just starting out their lives."

Rudnicki says the tragedy affected families, friends, and
co-workers.

"The devastation is unreal. You don't realize the impact until
something like this happens.

"It spread like fire and it hurt so many people."