Impaired driving charges to be withdrawn in fatal vehicle-bike collision in Windsor

Impaired driving charges are being withdrawn after a fatal vehicle-bike crash in Windsor.

CTV News has learned the accused, Kelsey Barkovsky, has passed away.

Barkovsky, 28, was charged with impaired driving in the death of Ken McEldowney, 58, who died in hospital on March 26.

The night before, just before midnight, McEldowney was riding his bike on Wyandotte Street West near Caron Avenue when he was struck by a car.

His sister, Tracey McEldowney says Ken’s injuries were severe, “breaking bones from his legs to his head to his ribs (and) his back and then she left him to die.”

Barkovsky was also charged with leaving the scene of an accident.

Police released a detailed description of the suspect vehicle after the collision, but didn’t lay charges until April 5, which was 11 days after the incident.

“He (Ken) was a really big part of my family,” Tracey McEldowney says. “He was the kind of person that if you ever needed anything he would be there. Like, he pretty much lived to take care of other people.”

McEldowney says the family is “shocked and disappointed” upon hearing of the death of Barkovsky.

Members of the McEldowney family stand near a memorial on Wyandotte Street West in Windsor, Ont. on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. (Michelle Maluske/CTV Windsor)“I really wanted everyone to know that this wasn't just some little accident,” says McEldowney. “The story of what happened to my brother, as far as the public is concerned, it's over.”

The McEldowney family feels they have been robbed of any kind of justice for their loss.

“I just wanted her to live with it. She hasn't had to live with it. Not long enough. She should have had to live with it for awhile,” says McEldowney.

Bobby Russon, Barkovsky’s lawyer, learned of his client’s death on June 10, but won’t say how Barkovsky died.

“She was having a very difficult time dealing with the public attacks on her,” says Russon in an email, who adds it was very early in the court process for the case.

“The level of disclosure I received was too limited for me to reach the point of discussing her guilt or innocence with her, so this is a subject we did not broach,” says Russon.

“I wish that I could provide the family of Mr. McEldowney more closure than that, but I cannot,” concludes Russon.

An official with the Crown Attorney’s office in Windsor says the charges will be withdrawn against Barkovsky sometime this week, even though she was originally scheduled to be in court on June 21.

“My heart goes out to that family (McEldowney). Nobody deserves to die,” says Ebony Rose Hulett, Barkovsky’s best friend. “But it wasn't like she woke up and (said), ‘today I’m gonna do that.’ It was an accident. And at the end of the day, accidents happen and was she gonna pay for it? One hundred per cent.”

Hulett tells CTV News she was with Barkovsky on the night of the incident at a bar on the west end of Windsor. Barkovsky went home, according to Hulett, but came back to pick up a mutual friend at the same bar.

According to Hulett, that’s when McEldowney was struck by the vehicle.

“She (Barkovsky) didn't realize what had happened,” says Hulett. “She said to me like ‘this guy started following me. I didn't know what to do. So I just sped up a little bit to get back to the bar’.”

The McEldowney family says a witness to the accident followed the vehicle to get the licence information. Barkovsky was arrested at a bar on the west side less than an hour after the accident.

Hulett won’t say when or how Barkovsky died, other than her family didn’t hear from her for a few days and when they checked on her, “she wasn’t breathing anymore.”

“I'm not gonna celebrate a child losing their mother or parent losing their child,” says Bryan McEldowney, Ken’s brother. “But I'm not going to shed a tear for her either. We do feel robbed, cheated on my pound of flesh so to speak.” 

Kelsey Barkovsky. (Courtesy: Ebony Rose Hulett)