Dangerous driver ordered to write an essay on crash survivor’s struggles
Family will film woman as she attempts to move through her daily life
As part of a highly personalized plea deal, the man responsible for a head-on collision near Oliver three years ago that turned a retired school administrator into a quadriplegic will have to write an essay detailing the effects the crash has had on the victim.
Silous Jay-Aspen Paul, 22, pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous driving causing bodily harm, and was sentenced Friday in B.C. Supreme Court in Penticton to a nine-month jail term, followed by one year of probation.
During his probation, Paul must watch a video created by the family of Laurie Hamm that shows her daily struggles since the crash, July 21, 2017, on Highway 97 near Vaseux Lake, and then write an essay that meets the satisfaction of his probation officer.
That “fairly non-standard” probationary condition was suggested by Crown counsel Nashina Devji as part of a joint submission with defence counsel “in order to instill a sense of responsibility in the offender.”
Justice Alison Beames also ordered Paul to complete 50 hours of community service – and at a rehabilitation facility, if possible, to get “an even better appreciation of the harm your actions have caused to the victims in this case.”
Finally, Paul, who’s a member of the Osoyoos Indian Band, will have to participate in a restorative justice program with the victims.
In recommending the sentence, Devji alluded to “frailties” in the Crown’s case, but didn’t specify if they related to Paul’s condi
tion at the time of the crash.
Court heard first responders detected an odour of liquor on Paul at the crash scene and found an empty bottle in his car, and that a blood sample taken at the hospital afterwards determined Paul’s blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit. Regardless, he was not charged with impaired driving.
Defence counsel Don Skogstad also noted his client, who was accompanied to court by his extended family and OIB Chief Clarence Louie, had planned to take the case to trial, but just a few days beforehand learned police had inexplicably failed to disclose two witness statements to the Crown.
“They were in the police file. They were never given to Crown. They were never given to defence,” said Skogstad.
In agreeing to sentence Paul according to the joint submission, Justice Beames cited Paul’s otherwise “pro-social and productive life,” family support, lack of prior criminal record and guilty plea. She also noted judges may only reject joint submissions if they would bring the justice system into disrepute.
Court heard Hamm and her husband were among four occupants of a pickup truck that collided head-on with Paul’s car, a Chrysler 300, on a hairpin turn where the posted speed limit is 40 km/h.
Paul’s erratic driving, which included passing vehicles on a double-solid line, was the subject of at least two calls to 911 in the minutes before the crash at about 8:30 a.m.
Investigators later determined Paul’s car was travelling between 55 and 82 km/h and had drifted 2.5 metres into the oncoming lane when it collided with the truck.
Paul, his passenger and the three others in the pickup with Hamm also suffered injuries, including broken bones and whiplash, but none as serious as the damage to Hamm’s spine that stole her independence.
“My life relies 100% on the care provided by others, including paid staff, my husband, my children and my friends,” Hamm, who was newly retired from her job as a vice-principal in the Greater Victoria School District at the time of the crash, said in her victim impact statement.
“All personal dignity, privacy and modest are completely gone. I’m a private person and grieve the loss of my personal autonomy.”
Hamm said she’s constantly in pain and misses simple pleasures, like holding her grandchildren and gardening.
“I’m living a life I’ve not chosen for myself. I’m bearing the brunt of the consequence of another person’s actions,” said Hamm. “I feel cheated.”
Skogstad told the court his client, “after a night of drinking with some friends,” awoke to a phone call alerting him a cousin had committed suicide in Penticton.
“Overcome with grief, he set aside his good judgement, got in the car with (another) cousin, coming here (to Penticton) to deal with that situation as soon as he could get here,” said Skogstad.
“It was an explanation. It was not an excuse. And there’s no doubt the matter has troubled him greatly.”
The lawyer went on to argue his client wasn’t driving unreasonably fast, given the circumstances, and that the crash was at “the sharpest curve in the Okanagan Valley, for sure, if not in the Southern Interior.”
Paul, who was an OIB youth ambassador in 2016 and has worked for band-owned businesses since he was 12, apologized to the victims – who attended via videoconference – when given a chance to address the court.
“I did a thoughtless act that did a great deal of harm to these other people. I’m sincerely, sincerely sorry for the damage I’ve cause to these victims. I’ve learned my lesson. I’m not going to repeat anything like this ever again,” said Paul. “It’s very hard. It’s very hard.
“I’m sorry.”