OPP officer Storey to face trial in summer of 2012

Lawyers have set a trial date for a local OPP officer accused of dangerous driving causing the death of an 18-year-old woman.

Lawyers involved in the case met at the Superior Court of Justice in Thunder Bay on Tuesday to set a trial date. The lawyers set the case for trial on June 4, 2012 in front of a judge and jury panel.

The trial is expected to last for about four weeks.

Police charged OPP Sgt. Darryl Storey with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving causing death in December 2008. The incident involves a two-vehicle crash that led to the death of 18-year-old Jasmine Veneruzzo.

The then St. Patrick High School student was pronounced dead at the scene after her yellow Pontiac Sunfire and an unmarked police cruiser collided at the corner of Twin City Crossroads and Highway 11-17.

Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit investigated the incident and eventually charged Storey in March of 2009, about three months after the crash.

The charges came after the SIU interviewed various witnesses, investigators said.