August 1, 2014
Standing Hearing for Inquest Called Into Death of Craig Kucher
A standing hearing will take place to determine who can participate in the upcoming inquest into the death of Craig Kucher, 24, of Brandon.
Kucher had a history of medical, emotional and behavioural issues. He went to the Brandon Regional Health Centre’s emergency department on June 7, 2012, in a delusional state. Following an assessment by the physician, Kucher was seen by an on-call psychiatrist the next day. He was then treated as an involuntary in-patient at the Centre for Adult Psychiatry in Brandon. His condition improved and on June 18, 2012, Kucher was allowed to take a two-day leave of absence from the centre. He was released to the care of his mother. Later that evening, Kucher left his home and was struck by a train. He died as a result of his injuries. The medical examiner could not conclusively state whether the manner of death was an accident or suicide.
Under the Fatality Inquiries Act, an inquest has been called by the chief medical examiner. Inquests explore the circumstances and events leading to deaths for the purpose of finding out what, if anything, could be done to help prevent similar deaths from occurring in the future.
Before the inquest can begin, the judge will decide who can participate and question witnesses by having standing at the inquest. Those interested in applying for standing should contact Ron Toews, inquest counsel, at 204-726-6012 or ron.toews@gov.mb.ca by Aug. 12.
The standing hearing will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 19 at 2 p.m. in Courtroom 101 at the Brandon Provincial Court, 100-1104 Princess Ave. in Brandon.
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