Scott Alexander McNally 'delusional' during Confederation Bridge incident

A man charged after a high-profile incident last month on the Confederation Bridge in which a Mountie was dragged by a stolen truck, was found not criminally responsible for his actions Thursday in P.E.I. provincial court in Summerside.

A psychiatric assessment conducted at the East Coast Forensic Hospital in Nova Scotia found Scott Alexander McNally, 28, of Borden-Carleton, P.E.I., was 'psychotic and delusional' on Sept. 1 when the incident occurred.

McNally was found walking on the bridge early that day by bridge employees. When RCMP arrived, McNally took off in a Confederation Bridge service pickup truck. A 33-year-old RCMP officer was dragged by the truck and seriously injured before managing to break free.

McNally then crashed into two vehicles near the New Brunswick end of the bridge.

• Mountie dragged on Confederation Bridge by driver of stolen truck
• P.E.I. man charged in Confederation Bridge incident

According to the psychiatric assessment, which was presented in court by the Crown prosecutor John Diamond, McNally thought he was being chased by people working for Egyptian gods who wanted to kill him.

Hillsborough security, treatment not adequate: lawyers

Based on the report, Judge Jeff Lantz ruled McNally was not criminally responsible for his actions.

Lantz ordered the man be held in Hillsborough Hospital in Charlottetown because the report noted the forensic hospital in Nova Scotia is now full and can no longer accommodate P.E.I. patients.

But Diamond said housing McNally in Hillsborough puts the public at risk and that security there is not adequate. He told court McNally is a drug addict and had been in and out of local hospital several times in the weeks leading up to the incident.

Defence lawyer Trish Cheverie also voiced concerns about sending her client to Hillsborough. She said treatment there is not a step forward compared to what he would receive on the mainland.

Lantz said there's a chance McNally could be transferred back to the mainland if space becomes available.

McNally had faced the following charges for the incident, which shut down the Confederation Bridge to traffic for several hours:

• being criminally negligent in the operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm;
• flight from police;
• theft of a vehicle;
• failing to stop at the scene of an accident;
• and three additional counts of causing damage to motor vehicles.