By James Bowler

SGI remembers lives lost on Saskatchewan roads

Nov 19, 2014 | 12:53 PM

Their lives were lost tragically, but they will not be forgotten.

Wednesday is the National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims, which holds a special significance for Prince Albert, where a number of tragedies occurred.

Ben Darchuk: The death of Ben Darchuk was the catalyst for change for Prince Albert MP Randy Hoback. In October, Hoback introduced private member’s Bill C-590, which would lead to tougher sentencing for people who drive at twice the legal alcohol limit. If enacted, offenders could receive sentences of up to 10 years in prison.

It is currently awaiting its third and final reading at the House of Commons.

Darchuk was killed on May 20, 2012, in an accident caused by Tanner Hallett Courtney. Courtney who was found to have a high level of blood alcohol in his system at the time and was coming down off of a cocaine high. Courtney was sentenced to two years less a day in prison, and given a three-year driving probation.

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In the early part of 2013, a mother-to-be Chrystal Rivet, 30, and her unborn child died in hospital shortly after a drunk driver slammed into her car at the intersection of 28th Street and Sixth Avenue East.

Mothers Against Drunk Drivers came together following Rivet’s death to call for tougher legislation, continuing to push for all provinces to adopt a zero-tolerance policy for drivers 21 and older or for their first five years of driving.

Craig Kopichanski was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to impaired driving causing death.

Rivet’s father Claude said the sentence was more than they expected, but advocates for an eventual minimum 10 year sentence for any driver who kills another person why driving drunk.

During the summer of that year, another mother-to-be and her friend were hit by an alleged drunk driver not far from Rivet’s accident.

Taylor Litwin, 21, died at the scene, but pregnant 19-year-old Brandi Lepine was taken to hospital, where doctors delivered her baby prematurely. Lepine later died.

Her daughter, Aurora, survived the premature birth and injuries she sustained from the accident her mother was in.

Jeremiah Jobb pleaded not guilty to charges including impaired driving causing death.  More than a year later, he is awaiting trial on these charges.

In a statement released on Wednesday, SGI officials said that between 2012 and 2013 the number of deaths caused by drunk driving dropped in the province from 183 people to 139.

“While it’s encouraging to see fewer fatalities and injuries, there are still too many people being hurt or killed on Saskatchewan roads,” Andrew Cartmell, president and CEO of SGI said in a statement. “We’re working to change that.”

In June 2014, SGI introduced some new traffic safety laws in regards to risky driving behaviour.  These included tougher consequences for those convicted of impaired and distracted driving.

You can see all the changes on the traffic safety changes page. 

jbowler@panow.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow