B.C. Supreme Court trial

A DIZZY spell may have
sent the driver of a sports
car careering off the road
outo a West Vancouver
sidewaik, killing a female
pedestrian, B.C. Supreme
Court Justice Donald Clan-
cy heard Wednesday in a
Vancouver courtroom.

By Chery! Ziola
Contributing Writer

Laverne Darrell Vanlerberghe
faces a charge of criminal
negligence in connection with the
death of West Vancouver resident
Ingaborg Von Schiack, 56, on
March 30, 1991.

Von Schlack was struck on
Marine Drive at 19th Street after a
Mazda RX 7 drove off the road
and mounted the sidewalk.

THe car smashed into a nearby
Esso gas station, knocking out a
gas pump and bursting into
flames.

Vanilerberghe, wha sustained a
cut under his left eye and a possi-
ble concussion after hitting his
head, said he doesn’t remember
how the accident occurred, a
Lions Gate Hospital emergency
physician testified.

Dr. Michael O'Neil, the doctor
on duty on the day of the acci-
dent, said under questioning frony
defence attorney Joel Gold that
Vanlerberghe may have suffered a
dizzy spell just before the accident
that could atso account for mem-
ory loss.

Gold earlier told the court his
client had a medical history of
dizzy spelis, migraines and
hypertension.

While O'Neil said a battery of
tests didn’t show evidence of a

x

Friday, Nov. 27, 1992 - North Shore News - 3

Dizzy spell suggested as crash cause
into March 199

1 accident that killec

t

"Photo submitted

ON MARCH 19, 1991, WV resident Ingaborg Von Schiack was struck and kitled on Marine Drive at
19th Street alter a Mazda RX 7 drove off the road and meunted the sidewalk. The car smashed into
a nearby gas station pump and burst into flames.

dizzy spell, he admitted the tests
aren’t conclusive.

“Dizziness has 1,001 causes,”
O'Neil said.

Although Vanlerberghe’s mem-
oty foss could also be attributed
to 2 later concussion, O'Neil said
he couldn’t be sure.

“TI was never entirely convinced
that his lack of memory was from
a head injury. 1 couldn't con-
clude... with certainty whether the

patient was forthcoming in
everything he knew,"’ O'Neil said.

“f wasn’t sure whether he knew
he had struck the woman. I just
recall a somewhat emotionally
uninvolved response.**

O'Neil was then asked by Gold
whether alcohol was a con-
triduting factor to the accident.

” Vanlerberghe showed no. evi-
dence of alcohol on his breath,
O'Neil replied.

rotesters abandon reservoir as
court injunction ends blockade
Environmental logging opponents leave Cap gates

A COURT injunction
Wednesday ended a
blockade by environmen-
talists at the gates of the
Capilano watershed.

By Michael Becker
News Reporter

Members of Friends of the
Watershed had chained
thernselves to the Greater Van-
conver Regional District (GVRD)
watershed access gate at
Capilano Road in a move to halt
logging in the watershed.

The strategy effectively block-
ed logging trucks operated by
C&R Logging Ltd. on Nov. 17
and Mov. 19, and on Monday,
Tuesday and Wednesday of this
week.

C&R Logging is contracted to
fog a portion of the watershed.

The protest also stopped
GVRD workers from = entering
the watershed.

Said GVRD water district
chief engineer John Morse prior
to the B.C. Supreme Court is-
suance of the injunction, ‘These
people are preventing our own
water district employees from
getting in to maintain the water-
shed. .

“They also are obstructing our
logging contractor who has a
legal right to be there.”’

GVRD employees maintain
drainage structures in the water-
shed. oo.

Said Morse, ‘‘They maintain
the creeks to prevent blockages,
things like that which could lead

a SR

‘e a
MEWS photo Cindy Goodman

MEMBERS OF Friends of the Watershed (including left to
right, Mary, Jason, Mike, lan and Mark) have spent the Jast
week protesting watershed logging by locking trucks at-
tempting to get through the Capilano reservoir gates.

to debris torrents. All the water
courses have to be maintained,
particularly at this time of the
year."’

Protester Chris Laing was at
the gates Wednesday along with
a group of angry loggers and
members of local media outlets.

“They did get an injunction.
Taat’s the reason we called the
media: we thought it would be a
good media thing when they
came to read the injunction, but
they didn’t even come.

“CBC, BCTV and the Sun
waited until about 4 p.m. Even-
tually when we were leaving,

they (loggers) took our big ban-
ners and they ripped them to
shreds.

‘They were basically going to
beat the hell out of us — the
loggers. There were six of them
and four of us, and they were
starting to get really angry and
threatening us as soon as the
media left. There were just huge,
huge arguments,”’ he said. ‘

Laing said no further action is
planned at the gates.

“There isn’t much more we
can do right now in terms of
blockading, unless we want to
have arrests,’’ he said.

He added that a blood-alcohol
test was not performed because
the police didn’t request one.

Another witness heard Wednes-
day, ambulance attendant Mike
Pascoe, countered earlier testimo-
ny from Von Schlack’s husband,
Rudolf, that the accused had been
talking and laughing in the am-
bulance en route to the hospital.

Rudolf, who witnessed his
wife’s accident as he rolled beside

1 WV woman

44 Dizziness has
1,001 causes ... I
wasn't sure whether
he knew he had
struck the
woman.. 9F

—— Dr. Michael O'Neil

her in his motorized wheelchair,
shared an ambulance with
Vanlerberghe on the day of the
accident.

Pascoe said the allegations of
laughter in the ambulance were
“*not at all” true.

Vanlerberghe was “‘slightly con-
fused’’ and ‘‘sleepy,’’ not even
able to remember his own bir-
thdate following the accident,
Pascoe said.

He admitted he and
Vanlerberghe were talking during
the ride, but only to determine
whether he had a_ concussion,
Pascoe added.

During 4 break in testimony,
Vanlerberghe told the News that
he’s had trouble functioning pro-
perly since the accident and now
takes buses.

“I feel so bad. I quit driving.
My remorse is vecy, very deep,”
Vanterberghe said.

The trial continues today.

Controversial sign bylaw
receives mixed reaction

THE DRAFT for a JSong-
awaited new sign bylaw
received mixed reaction
from both the public and
North Vancouver City
Council when it was pres-
ented at a policy committee
meeting last Monday even-
ing.

By Layne Christensen
Contributing Writer

The controversial bylaw —
which would replace a bylaw
dating back to 1960 -- was called
both ‘‘offensive’? and ‘‘in-
complete’? by members of the
public who spoke out at
meeting.

‘“‘Nobody questions that we
need a new sign bylaw ... but the
one you have before you is in-
complete,"” said Don Hickley, a
city planner with Vancouver City
for 18 years and a member of the
policy committee.

“There are lots of missing
components, and there are many
little details that need to be at-
tended to.”’

Some of the key areas of
signage regulation outlined in the

CL
NORTH VANCOUVER
CITY COUNCIL

draft bylaw include:

@ maximum heights and sizes of
signs — not restricted under the
current bylaw but clearly spelled
out in the new one;

@ movable or portable signs —
would not be permitted:

@ rooftop signs those ex-
ceeding one metre (3.3 feet) in
height would be prohibited;

@ electronic signs — would be
permitted only in conjunction with
another form of signage and then
would be limited to 30% of total
sige area,

Representatives from both the
North Vancouver Chamber of
Commerce and the B.C, Electrical
Sign Association presented letters
to council outlining their concerns
about the draft byiaw.

Tne receipt of these letters ‘‘at
the 11th hour,’’ said Coun. Rod
Clark, showed there was ‘‘some
disenchantment with the process
as it has evolved.’”’

Council is expected to consider
the proposed bylaw on Dec. 14,
after receiving a follow-up report
from staff.

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Saturday & Sunday,

mostly

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cloudy with showers.

Highs 8°C, lows 2°C.

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