A bench warrant has been issued for an Alberta man facing dangerous driving charges in a crash near Nelson. According to the BC Prosecution Service, Jivat Aragon-Martinez failed to appear in court as scheduled on Aug. 25.
He waived his right to a preliminary inquiry and was expected to stand trial by judge alone in BC Supreme Court on five charges including dangerous driving, failing to stop for police, resisting a peace officer, and possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Aragon-Martinez is accused of crashing a pickup truck just outside of Nelson in August 2024. It’s alleged that his trip from Trail to Nelson at extremely high speed ended with the crumpled vehicle in a ditch after hitting a rock face on Highway 3A just west of Nelson.
One witness told police a pickup almost rear-ended their car, swung out into the opposite lane and barely missed an oncoming pickup near Thrums.
Police say the truck also collided with the back of another vehicle and kept going.
