Vancouverhanggliding.ca
William Jonathan Orders
The hang-gliding pilot who swallowed a memory card containing possible evidence of his tandem passenger’s death now faces a new charge of criminal negligence causing death.
William Jonathan Orders, 50, is already charged with obstruction of justice following the April 2012 accident that saw Lenami Godinez-Avila, 27, plummet to her death.
On Friday, new information admitted into court records show Orders is now also charged with criminal negligence causing death.
He will make his first appearance for that charge in Chilliwack court on Monday.
Godinez-Avila fell 300 meters to her death, shortly after launching from the top of Mt. Woodside near Aggasiz on April 28, 2012. It’s believed Godinez-Avila had not been strapped in properly during pre-trip preparations.
Her boyfriend David Barrie, who had purchased the hang-gliding flight as an anniversary gift, watched from the cliff as the tragic accident unfolded before him. He was set to make a tandem flight right after her with another hang-gliding pilot.
Godinez-Avila’s body was found obscured by logs, 50 metres from where one of Orders’ shoes had also landed.
According to court documents, Orders did “wilfully attempt to obstruct justice” by swallowing a memory card that was believed to have contained possible video or photo evidence from the fatal flight. Orders told police he was panicking when he made the move to swallow the memory card.
He was arrested two days after the incident and held in custody while police waited for the memory card to pass through his system.
Orders is a 16-year flying veteran and is the owner/operator of Vancouver Hang Gliding. He had been a certified tandem instructor since 2009, but has publicly announced he will not return to gliding.
His membership with the Hang gliding and Paragliding Association of Canada has also been suspended.
The Lenami Godinez-Avila Fund has also been established in her memory to help benefit international students at Simon Fraser University with a passion for sustainability.
No comments:
Post a Comment