University student's death 'a needless and senseless loss,' final police watchdog report into 2015 crash says

More than three years after its final report was completed, Manitoba's police watchdog has released its findings on the circumstances surrounding a 2015 collision that killed a 20-year-old university student.

Taylor Renwick died on impact on on Oct. 9, 2015, when her car was struck head-on by a minivan that had moved into oncoming traffic to pass a semi truck.

The report from the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba said in the lead-up to the crash, RCMP officers had briefly pursued the minivan at a high speed because they suspected the driver was impaired, and that someone in the van hadbeen involved in an earlier assault.

The officers abandoned the chase within a minute because of the van's "excessive speed," approaching 150 km/h, the report said.

The IIU, which investigates serious incidents involving on- or off-duty police in Manitoba, got involved to determine whether those officers' actions were justified.

The unit cleared the officers of wrongdoing in August 2016, but was waiting torelease its final report until charges against the driver of the minivan had worked through the courts.

A 27-year-old Winnipeg man was charged in October 2015 in connection with Renwick's death. The IIU did not say what the outcome of the charges was.

"IIU did not lay the charges and does not track their outcome," a spokesperson said in an email to CBC News.

'She was entirely blameless'

The unit's report provides new details about that night, including how a bar fight, an empty gas tank and an abandoned police chase preceded the death of Renwick, an athletic therapy student at the University of Manitoba who was on her way home to visit her family in Napinka, Man. about 90 kilometres southwest of Brandon for Thanksgiving.

"Regardless of the findings of this investigation, nothing should diminish the sad fact her family has lost their loved one, and that she was entirely blameless in her own death," read the final report, which was prepared by Zane Tessler, the unit's civilian director.

"This was a needless and senseless loss."

The report included findings from interviews with the driver of the minivan and two of its three passengers.

The unit also spoke to staff at a hotel in Notre Dame de Lourdes just over 100 kilometres southeast of Brandonwhere one of the three men in the minivan was suspected of assaulting a bartender earlier that evening.

The three employees described a fight breaking out, and the bartender said a man punched her in the face and pulled her hair. The owner of the bar said the man left with a group in a light, older model minivan, and the bartender called the police to report the assault.

Investigators also spoke to two employees at the Petro-Canadagas station in St. Claude about 30 kilometres fromNotre Dame de Lourdeswho said a minivan was approached by anRCMPvehicle that night, and fled from police.

The employees recalled a man showing up and requesting $10 of gas, and remembered noticing signs of impairment, like slurred speech and the smell of alcohol.

Then, one of the employees said she saw the reflection of blue and red lights on the wall as a marked RCMP police truck pulled up behind the minivan. She said the van started moving, and stopped at another pump for a few seconds before accelerating eastbound down Highway 2.

The unit also interviewed the driver of the semithat the driver of the minivan was trying to pass when he collided with Renwick's car. He said he remembered seeing "a vehicle closing fast on him from behind and a police vehicle a long way behind that with dome lights on" in his rearview mirror, the report said.

Moments later, the driver of the semi said, the faster vehicle moved into the westbound lane to pass him. It stayed in that lane for about 10 to 15 seconds before colliding head-on with Renwick's car, he said.

Investigators also examined notes from the two RCMP officers and their vehicle, along with medical examiner's reports, police radio transmission recordings, video surveillance footage and GPS data.

The unit also collected expert reports from traffic accident scene analysts, criminal intelligence analysts and a University of Winnipeg department of physics professor.