After months of legal wrangling, a man accused of killing two woman in a hit-and-run accident entered a plea of not guilty in Port Coquitlam Provincial Court yesterday.
Cory Sater was not present at the hearing Tuesday morning but his lawyer, Tony Serka, entered the plea and notified the court his client wishes to be tried by judge alone rather than a judge and jury. A presiding judge will be chosen in the coming days and both sides are expected to meet on Nov. 14 to set a date for trial.
The charges stem from a hit-and-run collision near the intersection of the Lougheed Highway and Pitt River bridge in February. Charlene Reaveley stopped to assist another motorist, Lorraine Cruz, who had been involved in a minor accident, when they were both struck by a passing vehicle. Reaveley and Cruz were killed and Cruz's friend, Paulo Calimahin, was seriously injured.
Sater, 37 of Coquitlam, was arrested a short time later and was charged with two counts of impaired driving causing death and one count of impaired driving causing bodily harm.
The matter has come before a judge more than a dozen times without a date being fixed for trial, largely due to the fact that the defence had not received all of the disclosure required from the prosecution.
