POT CITED AS FACTOR IN LOG TRUCKER'S DEATH

Joseph Leroux Inquest

A coroner's jury heard Monday that marijuana use by log truck driver
(Frank) Joseph Leroux was a contributing factor in his deadly crash 16
months ago on a logging road road near Mackenzie.

Leroux, 52, was killed in a crash at night on March 20 when his truck
left the Finlay-Philip Forest Service Road.

Few details were revealed Monday of exactly what led up to the crash
as the RCMP testimony at the inquest provided little information. More
details are expected today as logging truck drivers, who were on the
road at the time, are scheduled to testify.

The inquest conducted by coroner Tom Pawlowski -- believed to be the
first ever into a log trucker's death in northern B.C. -- is expected
to shed light on who is responsible for safety on the province's
numerous backroads. It's considered a key safety issue by groups like
the B.C. Forest Safety Council, the United Steelworkers, the Prince
George Truckers Association, as well as the Ministry of Forests.

More than 30 logging logging truck drivers and drivers of other
forestry vehicles on logging roads have been killed since 1995 in
northern B.C.

Two weeks have been set aside to hear evidence at B.C. Supreme Court
in Prince George and for lawyers from the province, the United
Steelworkers and WorkSafe B.C. to cross-examine witnesses.

Forensic toxicologist Dr. Walter Martz, who heads the provincial
toxicology centre in Vancouver, submitted a report to the jury that
showed that Leroux had tetrahydrocannabinol -- more commonly known as
THC -- in his system.

Martz noted the THC, the active chemical in marijuana, was detected at
a low level and was complicated by the fact that the reading came from
fluid in Leroux's crushed chest cavity, which included substances like
fat and water, as well as blood.

But the THC results, combined with positive results for cannabis
testing in Leroux's urine, left no doubt that the driver had used
marijuana at some point in the past, testified Martz.

Edward Gouge, the province's lawyer, pressed Martz for more detailed
conclusions, including whether Leroux has used marijuana shortly
before he died. "My guess is that we have an infrequent user that
might have used hashish in the hours before the incident," responded
Martz.

Asked by Gouge whether it was true that infrequent users could suffer
more impairment, Martz answered, "yes."

United Steelworkers lawyer Andy King, in cross examination, challenged
Martz that it was difficult to say what effect, if any, the marijuana
had. But Martz said the fact the active compound THC was present meant
it was reasonable to assume there were effects.

Martz characterized it as a "contributing factor in the
circumstances."

Pathologist Katherine Tsang testified that Leroux died of blunt,
crushing force injuries from the crash. He had a fractured sternum,
broke both clavicles and multiple ribs. His broken bones pierced one
of his lungs and severed his lower aorta, causing him to bleed to
death. Leroux was pinned by the steering wheel and it took nearly an
hour to extricate him from the wreckage.

There was very little chance that performing CPR could have helped
him, as he would have needed immediate surgery to repair his aorta,
said Tsang.

The circumstances that led up to the deadly crash, however, were
unclear from testimony and cross-examination on Monday.

RCMP Const. Joshua Kalke, who was the first emergency official on the
scene, testified that he attempted to take a statement from the driver
that Leroux passed before he crashed, but the man was too shaken too
speak.

A traffic analyst specialist was unavailable from Prince George, so
Kalke and another RCMP officer took a few measurements.

While there was mention of some unclear radio communication, it wasn't
clear from the testimony what the sight lines of the drivers were and
whether the driver that Leroux met on the road was moving or stationary.

Kalke believed the other driver was moving, but in cross-examination
from Gouge, the province's lawyer, said he received that information
from one of the other log truck driver's at the scene who he could not
identify.

In a first glimpse of the safety responsibility issue, under cross
examination by the province's lawyer, Kalke revealed that while he
agreed the RCMP had responsibility for policing forestry roads around
Mackenzie, he had never been explicitly told to do so. "I've never
been told I shouldn't, and I've never been told I should," he said.

Kalke agreed that there were not enough RCMP officers -- there are 10
in Mackenzie -- to effectively police the 1,700 kilometres of forest
roads in the area.

Kalke also revealed that his knowledge of logging truck road
procedures, including radio calling, came from his personal experience
as a logger a decade before. He told WorkSafe B.C. lawyer Scott
Nielsen that he had received no training or instruction in this area
from the RCMP.

Kalke was also unaware that if there is no posted speed limit on a
logging road, the default limit is 80 kilometres per hour, a point
brought out in cross-examination by Nielsen. Kalke thought it was 70
kilometres per hour.

The jury also heard from Robert Gordon Leatham, a retired inspector
for the B.C. Ministry of Transportation's commercial vehicle safety
and enforcement division, that Leroux's truck had problems with its
brakes.

Leatham said given the truck's problems it would not have been allowed
to operate until the brakes were repaired.

However, Leatham also revealed that his department rarely made
inspections on logging roads because that was not their mandate. Their
focus was school buses, ensuring inspection facilities were up to
standard and road-side checks on highways.

Leatham also said he didn't want to set up road-side checks on logging
roads because he personally thought it wasn't safe.