A man has been charged with eight offences related to a hit-and-run fatality involving a motorcycle last September in Maple Ridge.
According to online court records, Ryan Gerald Lowe, born in 1984, has been charged in Port Coquitlam Provincial Court with dangerous driving causing death, impaired driving causing death, two counts each of dangerous driving causing bodily harm and impaired driving causing bodily harm, as well as failure to stop at an accident with a vehicle or vessel.
All the charges are alleged to have taken place in Maple Ridge. He has also been charged with public mischief in Chilliwack on the same day, Sept. 14, 2017.
He was arrested and charges were sworn on Friday, Feb. 2. Lowe is next to appear in court on Feb. 21.
On Sept. 14, 2017, a motorcyclist was killed in a head-on collision on Lougheed Highway at 280th Street in east Maple Ridge. The motorcycle rider was identified as Laura Jeglum-Woycheshen, a 48-year-old mother and grandmother.
She was on her way back from dinner, riding her Harley-Davidson with friends.
She was traveling westbound on the road at the time of the collision, just before 9 p.m.
Two other people were seriously injured, but survived, according Ridge Meadows RCMP.
The vehicle involved left the scene and was later located, but the driver had not been found.
Police, later in the month, said they were looking for anyone who may have seen a grey 2003 Pontiac Sunfire that had been traveling eastbound in the 27800-block of Lougheed Highway at around 8:40 p.m. on Sept. 14.
They were also seeking any dash cam video that may have captured the vehicle at the time.
A five-month investigation led officers across multiple jurisdictions, including Maple Ridge, Mission and Chilliwack.
Another man, a 31-year-old Abbotsford resident, Robert Lowe, has been charged with obstructing a police officer in connection with the investigation. He was released on a promise to appear.
“This type of investigation not only impacts the families involved, but our community as a whole was deeply touched by this traffic accident,” RCMP Sgt. Brenda Gresiuk said Tuesday at the Randy Herman Centre For Community Safety in Maple Ridge.
The victim’s family was present at the announcement of the charges.
“My mom was a very loving person,” said her son, Rob Jeglum, someone who loved riding her motorcycle and was known for bringing family together.
He added that it is a relief knowing someone has been charged in his mother’s death, as the past five months have been painful for the family.
“We’re just hoping we can move forward,” Jeglum said.
“We really need to be okay. And my mom would want us to be okay. She would want us to be okay.”
Her sister Brandy Gibson thanked all who came forward as witnesses and those who stayed at the scene that night.
“We thank you from the bottom of our hearts, because without all of you, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
