A South Surrey man who is facing charges in connection with a December 2012 hit-and-run that seriously injured two women made his first appearance in Surrey Provincial Court Tuesday.
Barry Russell Christiansen did not appear in person, however. An articling student representing lawyer Emmet Duncan spoke to the matter ahead of the scheduled appearance time, adjourning the case for two weeks.
Charges against Christiansen, 54, were sworn on Dec. 6, 2013 – just over a year after the incident.
On Dec. 3, 2012, just before 8 p.m., Nola Carlson and Shelley Lammers were jogging across 152 Street at 32 Avenue, when they were mowed down by a vehicle turning south. Lammers suffered a concussion, fractured ribs, a collapsed lung, two broken vertebrae and a lacerated liver. Carlson’s injuries included a broken nose and cheekbone.
Evidence from the scene included traffic-camera video that captured the impact and – about 25 seconds later – a figure on foot approach the women and lean over them before rapidly departing.
Three days later, police announced the arrest of a 53-year-old Surrey man and the seizure of a BMW X1.
Christiansen is due back in court on Feb. 3.