Charges laid in fatal 2025 Kelowna crash
Independent Investigations Office investigators are shown in an IIO stock image. The agency investigated the Feb. 27, 2025 fatal collision in Kelowna and found no reasonable grounds to believe an officer committed an offence.
Photo credit: Independent Investigations Office of B.C.
KELOWNA — Charges have been laid against a man in connection with a February 2025 collision at Highways 97 and 33 in Kelowna that killed a woman.
Tristian Pelletier-Vallee has been charged with dangerous operation causing death, dangerous operation causing bodily harm and failure to stop after an accident resulting in bodily harm in connection with the Feb. 27, 2025 collision.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
The collision happened after officers with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit’s Uniform Gang Enforcement Team spotted an uninsured black BMW travelling north on Highway 97 at about 6 p.m.
According to the Independent Investigations Office of B.C., the officers were travelling in an unmarked police vehicle. When the BMW turned right off Highway 97, the officers also turned.
The BMW then began driving faster and merged back onto Highway 97. The officers lost sight of it and continued north with the flow of traffic.
A short time later, the BMW collided with a Mitsubishi SUV and a Mazda sedan at the intersection of Highways 97 and 33.
The IIO said the Mitsubishi had been travelling south on Highway 97 and was turning left to travel east on Highway 33 when the collision occurred.
A woman in the Mitsubishi went into medical distress after the crash and was taken to hospital, where she died. The IIO later said none of the other people involved sustained serious injuries.
The collision triggered an investigation by the IIO because police had been following the BMW shortly before the crash. The agency investigates incidents involving police that result in death or serious harm, whether or not police wrongdoing has been alleged.
The IIO completed its investigation on March 25, 2025.
Civilian witnesses told investigators the police vehicle was not behind the BMW when the collision happened. Video from another vehicle near the intersection also showed no police vehicles at the intersection at the time of the crash.
Investigators found no evidence that officers had attempted to conduct a traffic stop before the collision.
The IIO concluded there were no reasonable grounds to believe any officer had committed an offence. It found the officers had lawful grounds to follow the BMW during the brief period they did and were not responsible for its driving behaviour.
The criminal charges concern the alleged conduct of Pelletier-Vallee and are separate from the IIO investigation, which examined whether police actions played a role in the death.
The Boundary Sentinel will update this story as additional court information becomes available.
Charges have been laid against a man in connection with a February 2025 collision at Highways 97 and 33 in Kelowna that killed a woman.