Sentence postponed in death of Laurier dean
Ronald Rees pleaded guilty last month to impaired driving causing death in Leanne Holland Brown case
The sentencing of Ronald Rees in the death of Wilfrid Laurier University dean Leanne Holland Brown has been postponed.
Sentencing had been set for Wednesday, but was adjourned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A new date could be set when the case returns to court on May 15.
Rees, 57, pleaded guilty last month to impaired driving causing death and dangerous driving causing death.
The Cambridge man was under the influence of marijuana when his car struck and killed Brown last April 24.
“Rees admits that his ability to operate the motor vehicle was impaired by THC,” said Crown prosecutor Michael Michaud.
Just before 2 p.m., Brown, 43, and a friend were walking on the sidewalk on Central Street in Waterloo when Rees’s Nissan Altima accelerated rapidly with its tires squealing. The car mounted the curb in front of MacGregor Public School and continued on the sidewalk toward the pair, who moved onto the grass to avoid getting hit.
The Altima continued to accelerate and drove onto the grass toward them. They tried to jump out of the car’s path, but Brown was struck.
The car carried Brown several metres before it slammed into a utility pole, “causing Brown to be thrown against the pole,” according to a summary of the case read out in court.
Rees’s car was travelling about 60 km/h when it hit Brown and 69 km/h when it hit the power pole.
Brown, who lived in Baden, was airlifted to a Hamilton hospital with multiple injuries, including a fractured skull, broken neck and ruptured heart. She died in the early evening.
Brown, the mother of two young boys, was Laurier’s dean of students for a decade.
Court documents show Rees was involved in nine car accidents from 2000 to 2015.
He remains behind bars pending sentencing.
Michaud previously said the Crown will be seeking “a significant penitentiary sentence.”