INNISFAIL – RCMP have released the identity of the victim in the pedestrian hit and run during the cold and snowy early morning hours of March 28 along Highway 590 east of Innisfail.
Innisfail RCMP Staff Sgt. Ian Ihme told the Albertan on April 1 that the pedestrian who was killed by a motorist on that winter-like morning was Shaun Walton, 36, of no fixed address, but originally from Wimborne, a community about 42 kilometres southeast of Innisfail.
“We are not sure where (Walton) was going at the time,” said Ihme, adding investigators at the Innisfail detachment are proceeding methodically and carefully into the circumstances around the early morning crash last week that killed Walton.
On March 29, Innisfail RCMP issued a late afternoon update media release to announce police had located the truck and suspect driver believed to be responsible for Walton’s death, which was originally classified by police as a “hit and run.”
However, there’s still no determination on whether the suspect will or won’t be charged.
“I can’t really say at this point,” said Ihme as to when detachment investigators will have a final determination on whether there is criminal culpability into the case. “From our perspective, there's no rush to lay charges or to decide not to lay charges. We want to make sure we have everything right.
“We've got the (suspect) person identified. We've got the vehicle located. Unfortunately the victim has passed,” said Ihme.
“So, we’re not rushing. We just want to make sure that we have everything done properly and have all the information.”
As for information about the suspect, Ihme would only say he is from the “greater Red Deer, Central Alberta area.
On the afternoon of March 28, RCMP said in a media release that at 8:14 a.m. that morning Innisfail RCMP was dispatched to a fatal hit and run on Highway 590, about 22 kilometres east of Innisfail near the intersection of Highway 590 and Highway 805.
RCMP Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said EMS and RCMP located a deceased male in the south ditch of Highway 590.
He said the RCMP investigation revealed the male victim was dressed in black clothing and was walking westbound on Highway 590.
Savinkoff said the man was last seen alive walking on the highway at about 6:30 a.m.
He said it was sometime between 6:30 a.m. and 8:09 a.m. that the man was struck by a vehicle that was believed to be travelling east on Highway 590.
Based on initial evidence at the scene, RCMP said the vehicle involved in the fatality was believed to be a 2019 or older Chevrolet or GMC 2500 or 3500 HD pickup truck.
On April 1, Ihme told the Albertan the police determined that weather and road conditions at the time of the fatal crash were “poor.”
“It was obviously not a great day outside. The weather was poor. It was snowing,” said Ihme. “He (Walton) was out there early in the morning, just walking. Lots of people saw him walking on the road prior to the accident.”
Ihme confirmed Innisfail RCMP did receive a video from a school bus that showed what investigators believe was the now-deceased Walton walking along the highway at about 6:30 a.m.
“The video we believe was shortly before the accident occurred,” he said. ‘The one thing about it is that it showed what the weather and road conditions were like.”
