Dentons partner charged after fatal hit-and-run

The partner is suspended by the firm after the drink-drive incident in Edmonton

Dentons partner charged after fatal hit-and-run

A high-flying Dentons Canada partner was arrested after a drink-driving incident in Edmonton left a 16-year-old girl dead.

Shane Stevenson has been charged with impaired driving causing death, driving over the blood-alcohol limit causing death, and hit-and-run causing death, according to Edmonton Police.

The incident happened late Sunday at the corner of 113 Street and Kingsway Avenue, when a pick-up truck driven by Stevenson is said to have hit Chloe Wiwchar, who was crossing on a marked crosswalk.

The truck fled the scene, but an off-duty police officer who stopped at the crosswalk saw the collision and followed the truck while talking to dispatch. Paramedics treated the girl and rushed her to a local hospital, but she was pronounced dead a short time later.

Stevenson was arrested less than two kilometres from the scene a short while after. He tested over the 0.08 blood-alcohol level limit at the time of his arrest.

The 47-year-old partner, who led the firm’s international natural resources and infrastructure group in the province’s capital, has been suspended by Dentons.

“We can confirm that Shane Stevenson, a Dentons Canada partner in the Edmonton office, has been suspended from the firm pending further investigation,” the firm said. “We are deeply saddened by the tragic events that took place in Edmonton on Sunday evening.”