Crown seeks max youth sentence for P.A. crash

The Crown is seeking the maximum youth sentence for the Lloydminster teen behind the wheel of a truck that caused a high-speed crash at a Prince Albert intersection.

A young woman was flung 40 feet from a grey car and a man was hurt after the stolen white truck the boy, 17, was driving ran a red light and T-boned them on Dec. 13, 2014.

The driver already pleaded guilty to six of nine charges connected to that incident, and on Wednesday his defence and the Crown prosecutor made sentencing submissions to Judge G. Morin at Prince Albert Provincial Court.

The teen avoided eye contact as victim impact statements were read by Matt Kozun –  who had been driving the grey car – and then by Mona Selander, the mother of the woman who flew from the car. Selander read the statement that had been written her daughter, Mara, who has returned to her studies at Carleton University.

The Crown told Morin the Crown is looking for the maximum two-year sentence for youth in the form of 10 months: in closed custody, five months supervised custody, and nine months on probation for the teen.

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Legal aid representation Estelle Hjertaas proposed a “lengthy probation period” and an alternative to closed custody consisting of a supervised program. It prompted Morin to point out that between Hjertaas and the Crown, “you seem to be miles apart” with the sentencing asks.

As a youth, the teen’s name cannot be published under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Crown describes a day-long crime spree

The Crown told the court that the days leading to the collision at 15th Avenue and 15th Street East was filled with criminal acts by the teen.

On Tuesday, Dec. 9, the teen was arrested for robbery when a police officer identified the teen in security footage at a Lloydminster Sobeys. An employee said the teen shoved her when she saw him concealing a liquor bottle.

The teen then hopped into a white GMC Sierra – the same one that was involved in the collision.

The Crown said the teen had admitted he was the one in the video, but that he’d been too drunk to remember doing it.

On Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014, the teen was released on a recognizance.

The next day, he and another teen boy decided to drive from Lloydminster to Prince Albert with a plan to make money.

One girl – who had been drinking in Lloydminster – joined the boys, doing “gas and gos” along the way, the Crown told the court. The girl’s witness statement said the two boys were “desperate to make money and get high,” with plans to sell fake methamphetamine in Prince Albert, steal a safe from King George School, and steal from Walmart, the Crown said.

The King George theft was thwarted when they found the safe wasn’t as easy to steal as expected.

Police involvement with the white truck, which held six people by the time they hit the school, started when someone saw the group leaving, climbing over the fence to the school with golf clubs.

Police saw the truck soon after, and a pursuit ensued. The 24-hour “series of poor decisions” ultimately culminated in the crash that injured two people, Hjertaas said.

The victims were in one of many vehicles driving on a Saturday night, in moderate traffic, around 8 p.m.

The court heard that the collision – with the truck driving around 160 kilometres an hour – hit with such an impact that even though Mara was buckled up, the impact broke her seat.

Other teens in the truck told the driver to stop when they saw the red light, which is one of the corroborating claims from their witness statements. One said he “felt like he was going to die,” the Crown said.

The girl who was with them suffered a fractured pelvis.

After the crash, the Lloydminster teen and another ran to get someone to call them a cab. Police chased them for three kilometres with police dog Jagger, but lost their scent.

All of the people in the truck were eventually discovered, with the guilty party found and arrested by police at Victoria Hospital.

Victim impact statements

Mara’s mother, Mona, read a statement on her behalf to the court, her voice wavering as she spoke, facing the prisoner’s box.

Mona, a Carleton University student, wrote the letter directly addressing the teen, saying the “what ifs” she faced after the accident haunted her.

She wrote there are “what ifs” they must also face. Among them, “what if” Mona and Kozun had died.

“You would have been made murderers overnight.”  

She detailed the effects on her, including stitches to her face, problems with facial sensitivity, massive bruising, flashbacks, trouble sleeping, and sensitivity to sound.

Mara looked at the teen as she read her daughter’s words, saying he now has a second chance.

Kozun’s victim impact statement also detailed his struggles. He had a concussion, has post-traumatic stress disorder, and experiencing frequent pain.

Kozun said the inability to focus as a result of the accident have impacted his studies as a Masters student.

Later in the day, Hjertaas read a letter the teen had written.

In the letter, the teen said he was “truly sorry for my actions.” He said he could not look in the eyes of the victim’s family in court because he was so ashamed of himself.

The teen kept his head down most of the time in court, looking at the judge and counsel on occasion.

Judge left to decide

Morin was left to consider two very different submissions from Hjertaas and the Crown.

The Crown stated that alternatives to custody are not appropriate since the result of the teen’s actions was foreseeable, he seems unwilling to deal with his addictions, and because driving so dangerously in the heart of Prince Albert on a Saturday night put everyone on the road at risk.

In addition to 15 months total in custody, the Crown requested a minimum five-year driving prohibition and a restitution order of $880.

Hjertaas said her client is more than willing to attend treatment for alcohol addiction, see a psychiatrist for drug and alcohol addiction, and had no intention to contact friends involved in illegal activity.

She suggested the teen attends a program in Lloydminster that features a structured, supervised environment.

Morin will give his sentence on Jan. 30.

claskowski@panow.com

On Twitter: @chelsealaskowsk