City of Calgary found partially liable for deadly 2014 Glenmore Trail crash

A toppled Ford F150 pickup truck and a damaged Honda Accord in the eastbound lanes of Glenmore Trail west of Deerfoot Trail on Feb. 8, 2014 following a fatal collision.

The Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta has determined the City of Calgary failed to keep a median safety barrier clear of debris and the neglect contributed to a fatal crash.

A pickup truck was travelling westbound in the centre lane of Glenmore Trail on the morning of Feb. 8, 2014, between the Deerfoot Trail and Blackfoot Trail overpasses, when its driver lost control on suspected black ice. The truck crossed the centre median and entered the eastbound lanes of traffic where it collided with an oncoming car.

A 63-year-old woman who had been a passenger in the car was pronounced dead on scene.

The other occupants of the car, a 66-year-old man who had been driving as well as the two surviving passengers — a 22-year-old woman and a five-year-old girl —were transported by ambulance to hospital in serious but stable condition.

The driver of the pickup, a woman in her 30s, was the lone occupant of the vehicle. She was also taken to hospital for treatment of injuries considered non-life-threatening.

An expert in accident reconstruction found that, on the date of the fatal crash, the median barrier was measured at 45 centimetres tall, well short of the designed height of 81 centimetres, as a result of a buildup of dirt, gravel and snow.

Despite the buildup, the tire marks indicated the truck was not launched into the air but the compacted gravel and dirt did serve as a makeshift ramp.

City officials admitted that the buildup along the safety barrier had not been addressed in the decade prior to the crash.

Justice Colin Feasby determined that the pickup truck was travelling at a speed where the barrier, if not negated by the buildup, would have likely contained the vehicle and prevented it from entering the eastbound lanes.

In his ruling, which was released Tuesday, Feasby found the City of Calgary has some liability to the plaintiffs — the driver of the pickup truck, her husband who owned the pickup truck and their insurance company — after failing to keep the median and median barrier in a reasonable state of repair pursuant to its common law duty.

City officials and the plaintiffs are now expected to come to an agreement on costs. Failing that, the two sides may each submit written submissions to the court for consideration ahead of a financial award decision.