Mountie charged after his cruiser hit Cowichan woman's car near Duncan in June

Paramedics remove a woman from the scene of a June crash where her car collided with an RCMP cruiser. Charges have now been recommended against the officer.

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Criminal charges have been laid against local RCMP Const. Blake John Cross following a June collision with a Cowichan woman's car, Crown counsel says.

Neil Mackenzie said Cross is set for his first appearance in Duncan court on Feb. 19, when he'll answer a charge, laid Monday, of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.

The maximum penalty, if rendered, calls for a prison term not exceeding 10 years, MacKenzie noted.

The Saanich Police Department's external investigation examined the June 3 wreck that happened at around 7 p.m. on the Trans-Canada Highway at Miller Road, opposite the Old Farm Market.

SPD's Sgt. Steve Eassie said the woman, in her 20s, who was involved in the mishap is still recovering from significant injuries.

The Hyundai Accent driver spent two days in hospital after receiving what SPD Sgt. Dean Jantzen initially called at the time "a knock to the head that was classified as a minor injury."

Cross, an officer with some three years duty on North Cowichan/Duncan's force, suffered "significant seat-belt injuries" and was off work for a week or so, Jantzen said then.

The local woman's identity, and whether she's planning legal action, were unknown at press time Tuesday.

The Mountie is not on active duty, RCMP spokesman Cpl. Darren Lagan said yesterday.

At issue with SPD's forensic-identification section, and its collision-reconstruction team, was exactly how the collision occurred when the female turned her car left from the highway's northbound lane toward Miller Road, across from the Old Farm Market, police said.

That's when her Accent collided with the marked cop cruiser headed south to a domestic dispute, police have stated.

Eassie said a seven-month probe is about on par with such a complex investigation that saw 19 witnesses interviewed.

SPD's report went to Crown in November, he added.