Driver made illegal turn before cyclist struck, police expert testifies

Thetruck driver who struck and killed cyclist NusratJahanin September 2016 failed to obey a traffic signal before the collision, an Ottawa police expert testified at the man'strial Wednesday.

Steven Conley has pleaded not guilty to criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving causing death.

Jahan, 23,was cycling to school in the dedicated cyclinglane on LaurierAvenue W. just before 8 a.m. on Sept. 1, 2016, when Conley's truck struck her while turning right onto Lyon Street.

Jahanhad arrived in Canada from Bangladesh with her family three years earlier.

Det.-Const.Alain Boucher, a collision reconstructionist,took over the casefrom another officer almost two months after the incident.

Bouchertoldcourt he examined City of Ottawa traffic videocaptured by a cameraabout a block west of the intersection of LaurierAvenue W. and Lyon Street.

The images clearly show Conley beginning to turn right when the eastbound traffic signal turned from red to a forward green arrow,Bouchertestified. Under Ontario's Highway Traffic Act, that constitutes an illegal turn.

"Had Conley waited for the solid green light, then the collision would not have occurred," Boucherwrote in his report.

Meanwhile Jahanhad begun cycling through the intersection when the green arrow appeared, and had right ofway at that time.

The photographs also show a traffic sign next to the cycling lane warning motorists to give priority to cyclists.

Reconstruction effort

As part of his investigation,Boucheralso attempted to reenact the collision in early November 2016.

A cyclist posed as Jahanand a similartruck to Conley's was driven by a city worker who wore a camera strapped to his forehead. On the video, which wasplayed in court,the driver can be heard saying he could see the cyclist from the shoulders up when he was stopped at the intersection.

Boucher's report concluded the driver could clearly see the cyclist, but he was forced to retract that conclusion on the stand because the city had reconfiguredthe stop lines on LaurierAvenue W. after Jahan'sdeath.

In some cases,stop lines for bikes insegregated cycling lanes were shifted forward and the stop line for trafficwas moved backto make cyclists more visible.

Bouchertestified he adjusted the vehicle stop line back to where it was at the time of the collision, butfailed to account for the new position of the cyclist'sstop line. The officer told the court he realized his mistake last week.

"I didn't pay enough attention to the cyclist's stop line," he testified.

Bouchertold Crown prosecutor John Ramsaythat because of that, his conclusion from the reenactment may have been different.

"The driver may or may not have seen the cyclist if we had the stop line in the right spot," said Boucher."It would have been difficult for the driver to see the cyclist."

The trial continues Thursday.