Vernon and North Okanagan

Photo: Contributed - Matt J. Lennox

Kiera-Leigh from the Facebook page created by her friends

By Adam Proskiw

Trial continues in Vernon for the hit and run death of Keira-Leigh Carlson.

Crown prosecutors spent a third day in Supreme Court Thursday in Vernon, cross examining Coldstream resident, Chase Garrett Donaldson. 

Donaldson is charged with dangerous driving causing death and failing to remain at the scene of a crash in the April 30, 2011 fatal hit and run that killed Kiera-Leigh Carlson, aged 22, of Vernon.

In testimony that was, at times, tearful and quiet to the point of being inaudible, Chase Donaldson admitted he “hit something”, but does not remember calling 911 and hanging up.

“All I wanted was to go back to see what I had hit,” he said.  “I was confused.  I just panicked.”
The defendant claims he did in fact return to the scene “several times” and searched near where he thought the incident occurred, but when he failed to find anything, he assumed that what he had hit was an animal that had run away.

RCMP Collision Analyst Sgt. Brian Nightingale, testified on Tuesday, however, that the area searched by Mr. Donaldson was not where the body of Ms. Carlson was eventually found and Crown Prosecutor Iain Currie suggested that “Mr. Donaldson did not look in the right place because he did not want to find anything.”

The reason he did not report the incident to the authorities, according to Currie, is because he “didn’t want to get in trouble.”

We will have the full story on today's trial coverage later this afternoon.