Tim Collins / News staff
A suspect who is thought to have fled the scene of a crash outside Hope, B.C. last week has been arrested in Revelstoke.
The suspect allegedly escaped following the crash by stealing a truck from a wildfire crew that had stopped at the crash scene to assist the passenger of the crashed vehicle, Danielle Charlton, who was in life threatening condition at the time of the man’s escape, and who later succumbed to her injuries.
The man in question has been identified as Anthony Cortez, who according to social media was Charlton’s fiance, and who had been involved in a jewelry store robbery in Nelson with Charlton only a few hours before the crash. The couple had left Nelson in a stolen SUV, the same vehicle involved in the crash when it ran into a maintenance vehicle on Highway 3 near Hope.
Cortez was apparently arrested in Revelstoke this week on a number of charges, including the dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and assaulting an officer. RCMP would only say that the suspect in custody was involved in the fatal Sept. 11 collision on Highway 3, but did not release the name of the suspect.