Prince Albert man pleads guilty to causing 2016 highway crash that killed 2
A Prince Albert man has pleaded guilty to causing a highway crash near Colonsay in October 2016 that killed two men and seriously injured a third.
David Deagnon will return to court June 21 for sentencing.
Deagnon pleaded guilty Monday at Court of Queen's Bench in Saskatoon to two counts of dangerous driving causing death and one count of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
The details of the crash are laid out in a four-page agreed statement of facts.
The collision happened at 7:20 a.m. on a Tuesday morning when Deagnon drove his Ford F-350 Super Duty truck in the wrong lane into a medical transport bus.
The driver, 69-year-old Larry Gavel, and 61-year-old Brian Emisch were both killed. Emisch was in a wheelchair attached to the floor of the bus. He was coming to Saskatoon from Watrous for medical appointments.
Dale Hartley, driving behind the bus, described what he saw when he arrived at the scene.
"Deagnon was hyper, swearing and angry and would not listen to his requests to sit down. Deagnon after exiting the truck and being told to sit he went back to his truck. He was told again to sit and then instead climbed onto the roof of the truck while Hartley tended to the victims," the statement of facts said.
"Hartley said the radio was blaring loudly on the truck when he arrived and Deagnon pulled his hood up and did not appear to want to make eye contact."
RCMP seized two cell phones from the truck.
"One phone showed usage consistent with Deagnon getting little sleep for over three days preceding the collision. The phone was in near constant use," the statement of facts said.
"The phone referenced Deagnon having 'jib' (methamphetamine) and wanting to 'smoke a puddle' the night before the collision. The messages refer to him being constantly tired and being up for over two days."
There was a message sent to Deagnon's phone at around 7:20 a.m., the time of the collision. Forensic analysis showed the message had been read, the statement of facts said.
Deagnon gave a statement. He denied using methamphetamine but admitted to using marijuana the night before and using cocaine days earlier.
He said that he had no memory of the collision.
Colonsay is 59 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon.
