A Winnipeg courtroom erupted in angry shouts on Thursday after a woman was found not guilty of causing a fatal collision that killed a mother and a daughter.
Relatives of Jeanne Haug, 43, and Brittney Chegus, 23, were escorted from the building by sheriffs after Crystal Vandal, 31, was acquitted of two counts of careless driving causing death.
Vandal was behind the wheel when her car suddenly veered into oncoming traffic in September 2013, but she testified her passenger, former boyfriend Carl Balan, had grabbed the wheel during an argument and jerked it to the right.
She said she tried to jerk it back to the left at the same time he let go, which caused her to swerve into the oncoming lane.
Balan was charged with two counts of interfering with a driver but they were stayed last year.
After the judge delivered the verdict, spectators shouted "Where's the justice?" and "Liar, killer!"
"She killed two people, I don't care," said an angry Vern Hogue. "Somebody needs to take responsibility."
In his ruling, Judge Ryan Rolston said Vandal "could not be expected to regulate her driving based on others' actions."
Vandal had been driving at least 43 kilometres over the speed limit at the time of the crash but Rolston said that wasn't enough for a conviction on the charge.
"There's no responsibility for losing my sister, losing my niece," said Haug's brother Darryl.
"I had to buy a suit for my niece's funeral, not her wedding. She was 23 years old, she had her whole life ahead of her."
(CTV Winnipeg, CJOB)
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