Police cleared of wrongdoing in failed search for fatal car crash near Nelson, B.C.

SURREY — British Columbia’s police watchdog says officers’ actions did not contribute to the death of a motorist who crashed down a steep embankment in the southern Interior earlier this year.

The Independent Investigations Office says the crash happened in the early morning on Jan. 19 near Nelson, when a male driver died after the crash that wasn’t spotted for several hours.

The investigation says the motorist was able to make a call shortly after crashing and alerted family members who then contacted police.

However, the report says the motorist couldn’t give his location, and police were not successful in finding him based on cellphone triangulation.

Police conducted multiple searches in the darkness but could not find the crash site, and the report says search and rescue wasn’t contacted immediately because police felt searchers would not make any difference until daylight.

The report says an autopsy of the man found he had sustained “catastrophic and non-survivable” injuries in the crash, and finding him earlier “would not have offered a less tragic outcome.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2025.

The Canadian Press