Man’s jail term for dangerous driving upheld by appeal court
An Abbotsford man who caused a serious head-on collision has lost his appeal of a 60-day intermittent jail term.
Jean Jacques Bosco, a former professional soccer player who operates a local soccer academy for children and adults, was convicted of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
The conviction relates to an incident on Jan. 14, 2012, while Bosco was driving home in treacherous conditions along 16th Avenue in Langley.
He began tailgating another eastbound vehicle, prompting the other driver to slam on the brakes. Bosco then slammed on his own brakes and lost control of his vehicle.
He swerved into the oncoming westbound lane, passed the vehicle ahead and three or four other vehicles. As he approached and crested a blind hill, he collided head-on with a vehicle being driven by Karen Gudbranson.
The trial judge determined Bosco drove in the oncoming lane for more than 40 seconds and rejected his claim that he couldn’t merge back into the eastbound lane safely.
Gudbranson suffered significant and “life-altering” injuries.
Court heard that Bosco had come to Canada from Rwanda in 1998. He enjoys strong community support for his soccer academy.
Bosco had no prior criminal record but his driving record listed six speeding infractions and five unsafe driving violations.
He was sentenced to 60 days in jail to be served on weekends, a term reduced to 51 days with credit for pre-sentence custody. He also received a two-year driving ban.
On appeal, he alleged the judge had failed to consider all sentencing options and principles and had failed to consider the mitigating factors. He sought a conditional discharge.
But a three-judge panel of the B.C. Court of Appeal rejected his arguments and dismissed his appeal.
Justice Gail Dickson noted that the task of sentencing was delicate, in part because Bosco was an “exceptionally impressive, otherwise lawabiding” individual.
“Nevertheless, he is also a mature individual who inexplicably chose to drive in an exceeding ly dangerousmanner over a prolonged period and seriously injured his victim.”
Dickson upheld the sentence but reduced it by two days because Bosco was wrongly held in prison after he’d been granted bail on appeal.