Officer killed in crash was speeding

A 28-year-old Mountie who was killed when his unmarked police cruiser slammed into a transport truck near Vancouver last month was speeding as he attempted to locate a stolen truck and did not have his emergency lights on at the time, the RCMP says.

Const. Adrian Oliver, a 28-year-old who had been an RCMP constable since 2009, died on Nov. 13 after he was involved in a crash at an intersection in Surrey, southeast of Vancouver.

Photo: Contributed

The RCMP issued a news release Friday that provided the first update on the investigation in weeks, revealing preliminary evidence suggests Oliver was attempting to locate a stolen pick-up just before the early-morning crash.

"During the course of those efforts, in the moments prior to the collision, he was operating his police vehicle in excess of the posted speed limit, without his emergency equipment activated," Chief Supt. Bill Fordy said in a news release, issued late Friday afternoon.

The news release did not say just how fast Oliver's cruiser was travelling or how his speed compared with the posted speed limit. It said investigators were relying on GPS and video evidence

Police have already said Oliver, who started his first posting with the RCMP in June of 2009, was nearing the end of a 12-hour shift at the time of the crash. He worked general duty in Surrey.

The RCMP's criminal collision unit continues to investigate with external oversight by the Vancouver Police Department, the news release said.

The transport truck rig was not hauling a trailer at the time and the driver was not injured, police said last month. Friday's news release said the driver of that truck has been kept up to date with the status of the investigation.

Oliver, whose father and brother are also members of the RCMP, was given a regimental funeral a week after the collision.