Man found not guilty in connection with crash that killed woman in Dawson City, Yukon
Erich Rauguth faced a charge of failing to provide a breath sample after 2023 crash on Dome Road
A Yukon judge found Erich Rauguth not guilty Wednesday on a charge of failing to provide a breath sample after a fatal crash in Dawson City in 2023.
Rauguth, of Dawson City, was at the wheel when the car he was driving slammed into a gate on Dome Road, near the Moose Mountain ski hill, on the morning of Oct. 29, 2023.
The collision killed Samanroop Bisla, 33, who was a passenger in the vehicle. Bisla's family and friends wept silently in the gallery while the judge delivered his verdict on Wednesday.
In his decision, Territorial Court Judge John Phelps said the Crown failed to prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
During trial, the court heard that the RCMP officer who demanded the breath sample was different from the one who collected the sample at the detachment.
In his decision, Phelps said the Crown could have worded the charge broadly, instead of naming a particular officer, but didn't.
Rauguth originally also faced a charge of impaired driving causing death, but the Crown dropped that charge last September.
With files from Cali McTavish