The man charged with the driving death of a UK dentist vacationing in Oliver has been acquitted in Penticton Supreme Court last week.
Daerio John Romeo, 29, was acquitted of dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm by a Supreme Court judge on June 11, 2021.
In the summer of 2018, Paul Knight and his wife Michelle were vacationing in the South Okanagan from the UK when they were involved in a head-on crash in Oliver.
The couple had been exploring South Okanagan on a Harley Davidson when, on July 14, a Toyota Corolla crossed the centre line on Highway 97. It sideswiped another vehicle before colliding with the Knights head-on. The crash took Paul’s life and severely injured his wife.
Nearly three years later, the trial of Romeo began in Penticton.
One witness recorded Romeo driving erratically and dangerously between Keremeos to Oliver 30 minutes before the crash occurred.
The truck driver whose vehicle was side-swiped by Romeo’s vehicle one second before the crash also testified.
In the end, the judge decided to acquit.
In the meantime, Romeo is back in court in Delta on Wednesday, June 16, facing a 2019 charge of theft over $5,000.
In the past couple of years, he has been convicted to one day in jail and 12 months probation for possession of stolen credit cars, stolen property under $5,000 and mischief for separate incidents in Vernon and Abbotsford.
READ MORE: Trial underway into fatal crash in Oliver that killed a UK dentist
To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.
<>@PentictonNews
newstips@pentictonwesternnews.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.