N.S. case goes from crash, to gas-and-dash, then impaired driving

It came in as a single-car crash, followed by the report of a gas-and-dash, then quickly turned into an impaired driving investigation.

Mounties fielded the Aug. 7 call about a brown Toyota Corolla crashing on Highway 3 in Hebbville just after 7 a.m., about an hour after sunrise. A man who lives nearby told the dispatcher a woman came to his door saying a man in the car might have broken his back.

“En route to the scene of the collision, I received a complaint of stolen gas from the Ultramar gas station on Highway 103 in Hebbville,” RCMP Const. Adam Chapman said in an application for a search warrant.

“The licence plate and vehicle description were the same as those of the vehicle involved in the collision.”

Woman crying 

When Chapman, who works out of the Cookville detachment, arrived at the crash scene, a woman was crying outside the Toyota, and a man was sitting in the passenger seat “being supported by a second male in the rear seat behind the first male,” he said in information to obtain a warrant filed at Bridgewater provincial court.

“The male in the back seat was holding the neck and head of the male in the front seat still. The male in the front seat appeared to be in distress. On the ground beside the vehicle was a black and white bag, with needles on the ground.”

Chapman spoke with Cpl. Matthew Leggett at the scene and the former agreed to ask a collision analyst to join the investigation.

‘Odor of alcohol’

“I returned to the vehicle and stood beside the stretcher while paramedics and firefighters removed the male from the vehicle,” Chapman said.

“I could smell an odor of alcohol coming from the male, who at the time I believed was the passenger.”

He told Leggett he could smell booze on the man.

“Cpl. Leggett told me that he believed he had smelled an odor of alcohol earlier as well.”

The woman was sitting on the ground beside the Toyota, holding her left side near her armpit.

‘She was the driver’

“She was crying and stating that she was in pain,” Chapman said.

“I spoke to Corporal Leggett and learned the female had stated under caution that she was the driver of the vehicle.”

Chapman and Const. Matthew Stewart, the collision analyst, wrapped up the on-scene portion of their probe.

“He stated that he believed the male was the driver based on the reported injuries and location of damage on the vehicle,” Chapman said.

He later drove to the Ultramar that had reported the gas theft.

‘Speed off’

“I reviewed the surveillance video of the incident and learned the following: the male got into the driver’s seat of the vehicle. I saw the female get into the passenger’s seat of the vehicle. I saw the vehicle speed off from the gas station when a female employee walked towards the vehicle. I saw the vehicle drive across (Highway 103) and turn on to Highway 3. This is the same road where the collision took place.”

Chapman visited the South Shore Regional Hospital to check on the condition of the man and woman who had been in the Toyota crash.

“The male was being prepared for transport to hospital in Halifax,” said the investigator.

“I learned from the charge nurse that the female was undergoing a CT scan at that time.”

Chapman confirmed with a nurse that the hospital had collected blood samples from the man and that they were stored in a lab.

“I walked down to the laboratory and advised the technician there that I would be applying for a search warrant to seize the blood obtained from the male for the purposes of this impaired operation incident,” said the constable.

Warrant granted 

Two days after the crash, Chapman learned from another Mountie that the woman involved in the crash was still in hospital being treated for a nick in her aorta because of the collision.

“The male was still in hospital in Halifax … being treated for his own injuries.”

Based on the smell of alcohol he believed was coming from the man police believed to be the Toyota’s driver, Chapman convinced a justice of the peace to grant a warrant to seize eight vials of blood taken from Tyler Blaine Jonathan Veinotte.

“I believe the smell was being emitted from the male as there were no alcohol containers present at the scene that could have caused the odor, at the open air scene and hours later at the emergency room,” said the constable.

“The male was seen on video getting into the driver seat of the vehicle and driving away from the gas station. The same vehicle was involved in a serious collision shortly after leaving the gas station.”

‘Took 40 seconds’

On Aug. 17, Chapman did the drive himself from the Ultramar to the crash site.

“It took 40 seconds to reach the collision scene.”

A sober person would have been more severely injured in the crash, said the Mountie who has been investigating serious collisions for eight years.

He seized Veinotte’s blood samples from the hospital on Aug. 18.

“The investigation is still ongoing, no charges have been laid as of yet,” said Const. Dominic Laflamme, who speaks for the Nova Scotia RCMP.

Veinotte was slated to appear in Bridgewater provincial court two days after the crash on charges that are still pending including failing to attend court on June 21; possession of property obtained by crime on June 9; failing to comply with a summons on May 30; drug possession on May 30; and failing to comply with release conditions on Jan. 25.

He’s also charged with possessing a weapon for dangerous purpose; dangerous driving; and fleeing police in a motor vehicle. Those all allegedly took place on Nov. 5, 2022.

Judges have sentenced Veinotte on 27 charges between 2017 and 2019 on charges including theft, mischief, assaulting a peace officer, and drug possession.

‘Able to walk’

Veinotte, who is living with his parents in Bridgewater, said this week that he’s now able to walk again.

“I had to have surgery on my back (where) they put screws in my lower back on each side of my lower back,” he said in response to written questions.

“I couldn’t walk at first. I could hardly stand. But within a month I was able to walk with a walker.”

Unprompted, Veinotte brought up the case of Arthur Abdul Mosher, the 40-year-old who was arrested a few weeks after the Hebbville crash for the murder of a man whose remains were found in a wooded area of Lunenburg County in July.

“I don’t know how things work with it being (an) ongoing case but I have a lot of information about it,” Veinotte said. “Unfortunately, I seen a lot.”

Veinotte couldn’t be reached Tuesday to expand on his claim.