'We went flying': B.C. couple questions why RCMP officer not facing charges in alleged road rage incident

A B.C. couple say an RCMP officer—who is awaiting trial on criminal charges related to an on-duty shooting – crashed into their car during what they describe as a road rage incident on Christmas Day.

It began in an unlikely place, a McDonald's parking lot in Chilliwack.

Brianne Giasson and Joshua Serniak said they first encountered Keven Biagioni when they were behind him in the drive-thru line. He had just received his order, but didn't drive on.

"So the lady at the drive-thru window had to knock on the window, and ask them to move along," said Serniak.

The driver proceeded, but then came to a stop once again, at the parking lot exit. The couple was behind, and couldn’t leave.

So they gave a friendly honk, "Just to say 'Hey, we're behind you,'" Serniak recalls.

The pair said the driver then got out of his car, began swearing at them, and then raised his middle finger.

He still refused to clear the way, and instead moved up slightly, before slamming on his brakes.

"We need to leave and get away from this guy. I don’t know what he’s trying to do," Giasson remembers saying to her fiancé.

Serniak told CTV News that when he tried to drive around the other vehicle.

"He cuts me off and puts me into oncoming traffic, trying to hit me," he told CTV News.

'OH MY GOD HE HIT US'

The couple said the driver seemed to be chasing them prior to the collision at the intersection.

"And all of a sudden the whole cab lights up and he just hits us from behind," said Serniak.

"We went flying, and my glasses came flying off," he added.

The impact was so severe, they say, that their vehicle's seats were knocked out of place. Photos of the wreckage show the other car's licence plate lodged into the bumper.

"'Oh my God, he hit us, Josh,'" Giasson remembers saying. "I start freaking out," she added.

The couple says they were hit a second time before the man got stuck in the snow.

Unable to go anywhere he got out of his car and began trying to convince the pair not to go through ICBC, the couple say. They described him as appearing inebriated.

"He was leaning on his vehicle constantly. He had to hold himself up on his vehicle in order to talk to us," Serniak told CTV News.

They pulled out their phone and began recording. That’s when they say he agreed to involve the insurance corporation.

Giasson and Serniak took a photo of his driver's licence. It read Keven Biagioni.

CRIMINAL CHARGES FOR SHOOTING 

In December of last year, the BC Prosecution Service announced that Biagioni was facing criminal charges linked to an on-duty shooting in 2021. He has been charged with one count of aggravated assault, one count of discharging a firearm with intent, and one count of careless use of a firearm. His next appearance in court is scheduled for March 14. Biagioni was never taken into custody, never had a bail hearing, and is not bound by any court-ordered conditions.

News reports of the charges in that incident, the couple said, were what alerted them to the fact that the man who they allege deliberately crashed into their car was an RCMP officer on leave from the Chilliwack detachment.

They are speaking out because they don't understand why no charges were recommended.

Giasson and Serbiak say they've been left to bear the consequences of the crash – including a totalled car, lost wages, and ongoing fear, anxiety, and trauma. On the other hand, they say, Biagioni has not been held accountable for his actions.

COMPLAINT SUBMITTED 

The pair have submitted a complaint to the RCMP's Civilian Review and Complaint Commission. In it, the couple express frustration with the way the Chilliwack detachment's investigation into the crash proceeded, saying their requests for updates and information on the file went unanswered.

A month after the crash, according to the couple, they were told that no report would be forwarded to Crown counsel recommending charges. However, they never felt like they got an explanation of why this was the case when the officer who responded to the crash told them the driver had failed a breathalyzer.

"At this point all we were looking for was an explanation as to why this decision was made, which may turn out to be acceptable. Right now it is feeling like RCMP are avoiding answering this," the complaint says.

The B.C. RCMP would not confirm that Biagioni was involved in the Christmas Day crash, but did acknowledge that it occurred and that no criminal charges were recommended in connection with the incident. A driver was given a 90-day immediate roadside prohibition, Mounties told CTV News.

"I believe there should be accountability when you are a police officer, and you should be held to a higher standard," said Serniak.