CREIGHTON — A Creighton man has been charged after an alert RCMP issued about an increased police presence in the area Saturday.
Saskatchewan RCMP charged 27-year-old Winston Michel from Creighton, with:
- one count, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle;
- one count, leaving a scene of an accident causing death;
- one count, flight from peace officer;
- one count, assault; and
- one count, resists/obstructs peace officer.
The incident that resulted in the charges involved the report of an assault, a vehicle crash, the death of passenger, and finally, an order by the civilian watchdog group Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team to look into the death.
Here's the timeline according to the RCMP:
On Oct. 4, at approximately 2:50 a.m., Creighton RCMP received a report of an assault at a residence in Creighton. Officers responded immediately.
When officers arrived at the residence, they determined a woman had been assaulted and taken against her will in a vehicle by a man who was said to have a weapon.
Officers began patrolling the area with the assistance of Flin Flon RCMP and located the vehicle driving in the Creighton area.
Officers activated their vehicle’s emergency lights, but the vehicle did not stop. Officers later used a tire deflation device to attempt to stop the vehicle. It drove over the tire deflation device and continued on for approximately one kilometre. It then collided with a building.
When officers arrived at the scene of the collision, they observed the driver fleeing on foot. Officers located a second man in the vehicle. He was seriously injured. Officers provided first aid until the arrival of EMS. He was transported to hospital and declared deceased.
With the assistance of Saskatchewan RCMP’s Police Dog Services, the driver who fled from the vehicle was located and arrested in the Creighton area later in the morning of Oct. 4. Investigation determined the driver who fled from the collision was involved in the assault that occurred earlier in the evening. The female victim from the assault that occurred earlier was safely located; she was not in the vehicle at the time of the collision.
SIRT orders an investigation
RCMP say the man who died has been identified as a 20-year-old male from Deschambault Lake. His family has been notified. Investigators are working to determine his cause of death in consultation with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
As required by The Police Act, 1990, Saskatchewan RCMP notified the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) of the male’s death. SIRT directed Saskatchewan RCMP’s Provincial General Investigation Section to investigate the incident under its oversight.
Saskatchewan RCMP’s Creighton Detachment continues to investigate the initial incident. Prince Albert Provincial General Investigation Section continues to investigate the police intervention and subsequent death of the 20 year-old-man, with assistance of North Battleford and Saskatoon Provincial General Investigation Section, Saskatchewan RCMP Forensic Collision Reconstructionist, and Manitoba RCMP Forensic Identification Section.
