1 of 2 Crown prosecutors in U-Haul hit-and-run to be recused

The trial for a man accused in a deadly hit-and-run will go ahead after a justice denied an application to have both crown prosecutors removed from the case.

A judge ruled Wednesday that one of two Crown prosecutors involved in the trial of Peter Ashby must be recused.

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Ashby’s lawyer had filed an application for both prosecutors to be recused.

Caitlin Dick took issue with the prosecutors taking on an investigative role to gather new evidence, and that one of the meetings happened without a third-party present.

“Mr. Ashby deserves a trial that’s fair,” she told the court.

Lawyer Graham Rapson, who is not involved in the Ashby case, says it’s uncommon for a Crown prosecutor to be recused.

“It’s a very rare occurrence, something that only arises in a narrow set of circumstances that we don’t see very often,” he told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday.

The two prosecutors who were the subject of the application were not in the courtroom.

A different Crown was brought in to argue why they should stay on.

She called the meetings an “imperfect practice” and argued the defence doesn’t even know yet if she’d call them as a witness.

During the decision, the judge said the Crowns had not acknowledged that any of their actions were improper.

“It is just astounding that the gravity of the wrongdoing has not been recognized,” she said.

Ashby is charged with dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving causing bodily harm, flight from police, two counts of assault on a police officer with a weapon, and failure to stop at an accident causing death in the death of 45-year-old Kassandra Gartner.

Gartner was killed on Feb. 24, 2024 when she was struck by a U-Haul truck.

Police had laid down a spike belt to stop the U-Haul, but it was hit by Gartner’s vehicle.

Gartner, who was not involved in the police incident, was fatally struck when she got out to inspect her tire.

Ashby’s trial was initially supposed to start on Monday, but was delayed when his lawyer requested an adjournment after she received new evidence before Christmas.

The judge denied that request on Wednesday.

The trial will start on Friday and is scheduled to last three weeks.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Amanda Anderson