I miss Jacob
Things I've learned and what P.E.I. can do to prevent future tragedies
I miss Jacob. I miss his smile, humour, warmth, kindness, intellect, strength and absolute love of life. I miss his hugs and encouragement, and I miss our conversations. I miss him.
Jacob was a very fit 27 year old when he was killed by a drunk driver. He left our home on the Point Prim Road in the afternoon of June 12, 2020, and headed out for a 20- or 30-kilometre bike ride. He did this or a distance run virtually every single day.
A 43-year-old stranger slammed into him from behind with her car and threw his broken body on the roadside about 200 feet from the point of impact.
He was 6-feet, 7 inches, 200 pounds, and riding a new bike. He was wearing a new helmet. He was quite visible, but that didn’t save him.
Despite her windshield being smashed and her front bumper being left at the crash site, the driver did not stop to check on him or to call 911. She drove away and tried to avoid being caught. He died alone on the pavement.
The autopsy said he suffered fatal blunt force injuries to his head, chest, thorax and abdomen. He never had a chance. COVID-19 was in full swing, so there was no wake for friends to attend, and no funeral. Jacob’s father, my husband Kevin, died six weeks later from pancreatic cancer. I think he also had a broken heart.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED
The woman pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing death and leaving the scene of a crash. She was sentenced to five years in prison and a 10-year driving ban. It didn’t seem like enough but it was longer than typical sentences in many other provinces. The judge did what he could under the circumstances.
Here are some things I've learned about the justice system and impaired driving.
1. Sentence lengths — In the Canadian justice system, offenders, including the woman who killed Jacob, are routinely parolled after serving just one-third of their federal sentence. So rather than spending five years in prison, she was granted day parole about a year later and was on full parole and back in her home in P.E.I. about 18 months after starting her sentence.
It doesn’t feel much like punishment or deterrence to me. I opposed the day parole and the full parole. It didn’t matter.
So, that’s the punishment/ deterrence part of impaired driving under Canadian law.
In granting parole, the Parole Board of Canada stated said the person who killed Jake had to abstain from alcohol and non-prescribed drugs, and not be present where alcohol is sold or served for remainder of the five-year term. That was for her rehabilitation and for the protection of the public.
2. Parole terms
— Offenders are not randomly tested to ensure they are in compliance with these parole terms. It is up to the parole officer to decide if testing is required, and testing of the woman who killed Jake hasn’t happened to date despite my repeated requests. We/the public are to just accept that everything is good and that the offender isn’t drinking or taking nonprescribed drugs while on parole.
The Parole Board of Canada feels that is adequate and acceptable. As a member of the public, I don’t feel very protected.
Bottom line: I’ve found little comfort through the justice system. I’m grateful for the work of the RCMP officers and analysts, and for the Crown prosecutor’s efforts. They all worked hard to tell the story of how the impaired driver killed a random stranger and drove off to avoid the consequences. The judge also did what he could. However, there is not much from the death of my son to stop other impaired drivers.
Impaired driving has taken so much from us, yet it seems to continue unabated in P.E.I. I know what it cost my family, and the horrendous crash that took four young lives in December means more loss and pain that will never go away for more Island families.
Who is next?
CHANGES NEEDED
We need to do more. It is important to continue antiimpaired driving education with children and students so that they understand how wrong and dangerous it is.
Both the RCMP and Charlottetown Police Services have received additional funding in recent years for dedicated traffic units to combat impaired driving and/or training for alcohol and drug impairment screening and testing.this is important and more resources could be devoted to this.
I believe there are other initiatives we could implement in P.E.I. this year.
• Police in Canada have the right to demand breath samples for screening. Some parts of Canada are now doing this routinely with every police stop – for expired vehicle registrations, rolling through stop signs, minor fender benders, etc. We need to start doing this mandatory screening in P.E.I.
• Bystanders and/or concerned citizens have to continue to report suspected impaired drivers by calling 911. The police welcome this help and it is definitely having an impact here in P.E.I.
• Impaired drivers should automatically lose their vehicles for six months, not 30 days.
• Temporary signs should be posted along roads to show where an impaired driver was caught. The location of impaired driver arrests should also be posted online and in the media.
• Road checks need to continue and expand across P.E.I.
• Offenders should have to take a course, which includes the impacts of impaired driving before they get their licences back. I have offered to participate in such courses and I know others would too.
• There should be mandatory, random testing of parolled offenders to ensure they are meeting parole conditions.
• A lot is being done to help with addiction – a huge issue, but more can be done there too.
• Zero tolerance socially. Not all impaired drivers have addiction issues. Many just don’t think it’s a big deal or that they aren’t going far and that they won’t get caught. It isn’t funny and it isn't something to be shrugged off casually in social settings. It is deadly wrong. We have to stop them before they kill themselves or someone else’s family.
The person who killed Jacob posted jubilantly on Facebook the day she was granted full parole: “Mama I’m coming home!!” How I would love to hear those words from my son. I never will. We can all do better.