Guilty plea in death of Coldstream man
The man accused of killing a Coldstream pedestrian in downtown Kelowna just more than three years ago has entered a guilty plea.
The Supreme Court trial of Bradley James Smith was set to start Monday morning in Kelowna.
Smith, however, pled guilty to a count of driving with a blood-alcohol content greater than .08 in connection with an incident on Nov. 22, 2009 that killed Matthew Heenan, 23, of Coldstream.
“We were surprised by the plea, we were expecting a trial,” said Mike Heenan, Matthew’s father, on Tuesday.
“It’s been three years. Object of the Crown was to bring this person to trial. It was disappointing it didn’t get there.”
Heenan was walking at the intersection of Water and Ellis Streets, in downtown Kelowna, at around 2:30 a.m. when he was struck by a vehicle.
Heenan was taken to Kelowna General Hospital, where he died from his injuries.
The driver of the vehicle remained on the scene, and he was detained for investigation of impaired driving.
Police report the driver provided two samples of his breath at the Kelowna detachment. The samples were 150 and 140 mg/100 ml.
“We felt it would have been in the public interest to see this man brought to trial and we were fully prepared to sit through a trial,” said Mike Heenan.
Sentencing for Smith will take place in provincial court at a later date.
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