Driver involved in fatal 2024 crash in Ottawa Valley arrested in B.C.

An OPP cruiser is pictured in this undated photo. (Source: OPP Central Region)

Ontario Provincial Police say the driver of a side-by-side utility terrain vehicle (UTV) involved in a fatal crash north of Petawawa, Ont. last spring was arrested in B.C. this week.

The crash happened March 24, 2024, on Pergeon Lake Road in Laurentian Hills, a rural area about 200 kilometres northwest of downtown Ottawa. Both the driver and the passenger were ejected from the vehicle. The 22-year-old passenger from Eganville, Ont. died in hospital.

Police did not name the victim.

A Canada-wide warrant was issued for the arrest of the 26-year-old driver. He was located and arrested in British Columbia with the assistance of the RCMP Fugitive Return Program, OPP said in a news release Thursday.

The man was returned to Ontario on Wednesday. He is charged with dangerous operation causing death and impaired operation causing death.

He is scheduled to appear in court in Pembroke.