A driver accused in the death of a Saskatchewan conservation officer has pleaded guilty.
Blaine Taypotat pleaded guilty at Saskatoon provincial court Thursday to manslaughter and impaired driving causing death in relation to a crash that killed 23-year-old Justin Knackstedt.
Taypotat struck Knackstedt with a vehicle May 31, 2013, after driving through a traffic stop on Highway 11, just south of Saskatoon.
Knackstedt, who was from Watson, Sask., stopped along the highway to help first responders deal with a crash. Police said while at the scene they received a call of a black SUV — later discovered to be driven by Taypotat — moving erratically towards the collision site.
An RCMP officer approached the SUV but Taypotat continued through the crash scene and hit Knackstedt.
Mounties chased the vehicle but only caught Taypotat after the vehicle reached Saskatoon and rolled into a ditch.
A sentencing date has yet to be scheduled.
