R. v. Beckett Date:, 2015 BCPC 371

Citation: R. v. Beckett Date: 20150211 2015 BCPC 0371 File No: 60797-1 Registry: North Vancouver IN THE PROVINCIAL COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA REGINA v. MADELEINE BECKETT ORAL REASONS FOR SENTENCE OF THE HONOURABLE JUDGE J. C. CHALLENGER Counsel for the Crown: J.B. MacFarlane Counsel for the Defendant: J. Whysall Place of Hearing: North Vancouver , B.C. Date of Hearing: February 11, 2015 Date of Judgment: February 11, 2015

[1] THE COURT: These are my reasons on sentence in the matter of Madeleine Beckett. Ms. Beckett is before the court havingpled guilty to one count of having the care, charge, or control of a vehicle that was involved in an accident with another person, beingLeanne Teresa Pickard, and that she did, with intent to escape civil or criminal liability, fail to stop her vehicle and give her name andaddress and offer assistance, contrary to s. 252(1)(

a) of the Criminal Code. [2] The Crown proceeded by indictment. As a "Minister of Justice", the Crown in this matter exercised their discretion, and Iwould say appropriately, to proceed without an allegation of bodily harm. Thus, a conditional sentence is available to the court. There isa five-year maximum and no minimum. [3] I will note at the outset that this is a joint submission between counsel, which I will address again later. [4] The circumstances are that Ms. Beckett was driving home from her mother's. She had been there preparing a casserole for apotluck dinner. She was sober.

She was southbound on Grand Boulevard, travelling somewhere around the speed limit. It was a clearnight, although dark out, in December of 2013. The collision occurred at the intersection of East 17th and Grand Boulevard. There is nostop sign at that intersection, but there is a crosswalk. Ms. Beckett was distracted by the dish that was on the front seat next to her. As aresult of that momentary inattention, she failed to see Ms. Pickard enter the crosswalk and struck her. [5] Ms. Pickard came onto the hood of the vehicle, struck the windshield, cracking it in two different areas, and fell off to the side. Ms.

Beckett panicked and drove to her own residence, which was a short distance away. She was observed by a retired police officer,who was alerted by the condition of her vehicle, to get out of her vehicle and examine the condition of it. He believed she was calling hermother at that time and indeed that was the case. Then, by text and also in person, she advised her roommate that she had been in anaccident and borrowed her roommate's car and returned to the scene. She was back at the scene within 15 minutes or so of strikingMs. Pickard. [6] When the police confronted her, she admitted her involvement in striking Ms.

Pickard. [7] The tragedy is that Ms. Pickard suffered catastrophic injuries. There is a victim impact statement, which I will refer to, that setsout her very significant physical injuries. Most significantly her skull was fractured and she suffered a traumatic brain injury. That injuryhas affected her mobility, her cognitive ability, and her ability to communicate. She continues to be significantly impacted and, judgingby what is set out in the victim impact statement, she will continue to be so. [8] She had been a healthy, bright, active, social person in her fourth year of university with a promising future.

She will now facea life which is and will likely remain one of dependency and significant challenges. [9] She is not the only victim in this matter. Her entire family, who are here today, has also been significantly impacted by hersuffering. They have suffered with her, and will continue to suffer with her, likely for the rest of their lives. [10] The other tragedy is that Ms. Beckett is a bright, healthy, active, self-supporting young woman with a promising future. She,too, is loved and supported by many family and friends. She has no alcohol or substance abuse issues and no other challenges.

She haswritten and provided to the court a heartfelt and eloquent letter of apology. [11] There is a package of letters of support which attest to her otherwise good character. [12] It is particularly touching to see letters which express an equal amount of compassion and empathy for the victim as they do forthe accused, and that is a very positive comment about Ms. Beckett and her family. I hope that the Pickards are able to read some ofthose letters and see how much Ms.

Beckett's family and friends feel their loss. [13] There is a joint submission before me for a six-month conditional sentence order and a two-year prohibition from driving unders. 259 of the Criminal Code. This is a very appropriate submission made by experienced and careful counsel, who have considered all ofthe various principles of sentence, as well as the strength of their cases and the circumstances of the accused and the offence. [14] Mr. Whysall on behalf of Ms.

Beckett has provided a thorough and careful survey of a number of cases with respect to theappropriate range of sentence, and I have had an opportunity to consider those. They are: R. v. Windrum, 2014 BCSC 1909; R. v. Uppal,2013 BCPC 110; R. v. Giles, 2012 BCSC 775; R. v. Peragine, [2012] B.C.J. No. 2132; R. v. Sanghera, [2009] B.C.J. No. 128; R. v.Helten, 2007 BCPC 383; R. v. Edgar, [2002] B.C.J. No. 3146; R. v. Cameron, 2004 BCPC 500; and R. v. Pawa, (BCCA), [1998] B.C.J. No. 896 from the Court of Appeal. [15] All of these cases support the range of sentence as suggested by Mr. MacFarlane for the Crown and Mr.

Whysall for thedefence. [16] Ms. Beckett's culpability lies in a brief lapse of judgment which caused her to leave Ms. Pickard lying at the scene, on the sideof the road, as she drove away, and in particular by failing to stop to offer her assistance. [17] Crown referred me to R. v. Sriranjan, 2013 ONCJ 35, where at paragraph 56, the court said: Driving is a privilege. As with any privilege comes a responsibility. One of the most fundamental responsibilities for any driver is to stophis or her vehicle when a traffic accident occurs.

A driver must stop to make inquiries, provide information and render assistance, careand comfort to an injured person. This is not just a legal obligation but also a moral obligation. Accidents happen on our roadways,therefore in order to ensure and maintain public safety it is imperative that drivers comply with this simple responsibility. To not do so isunacceptable and lacking in care for one's fellow citizens. [18] Ms. Beckett will face the feelings she has expressed in her letter of apology for the rest of her life. She will also face the

consequences of her negligence. There is an adage at law that it is negligent not to see what is clearly visible. There will be significant consequences to her. We can only hope this is not the case, but it would appear likely that there will be a potentially multi-million dollar award for damages for ongoing care and the loss of amenities for Ms. Pickard. As a result of this plea and her actions, she will face subrogation by the insurance corporation for that money. [ 19 ] As Judge Stansfield said in R. v.

Cameron , a similar case which I have already referred to, at paragraph 7: There are some kinds of tragedies to which courts are ill equipped to respond. There is nothing that I can do in this room today that will in any way be proportionate to the loss experienced by [in that case] the Bue family [but here the Pickard family]. There is nothing I can do that will be experienced by [Ms. Beckett] as a burden anywhere near as great as that with which she already lives, in the simple knowledge of the results of this terrible accident. [ 20 ] Ms.

Beckett is a youthful adult offender with no criminal history and, as a result, at law, her rehabilitation must be given significant weight. This is a tragic case of how we all take for granted every day how dangerous it is to put a vehicle in motion, and in particular at any speed. [ 21 ] It is a tragic reminder of the importance of maintaining concentration at all times when behind the wheel of a vehicle, and I hope that Ms. Beckett takes it upon herself to volunteer in the community to educate other young drivers, and all of us, about the importance of not being distracted while we drive. [ 22 ] Ms.

Beckett, if you will stand. [ 23 ] There will be a nine-month conditional sentence and, pursuant to s. 259(2) of the Criminal Code , your ability to operate a motor vehicle is prohibited across Canada for a period of two years. You may be seated. [ 24 ] So we will now turn to the terms of the conditional sentence.

Have counsel addressed their minds to that? [SUBMISSIONS BY COUNSEL FROM 3:54:10 TO 4:00:04 P.M.] [ 25 ] THE COURT: The terms of the conditional sentence will be the statutory terms, which are that you are to keep the peace and be of good behaviour, and appear before the court when required to do so by the court. [ 26 ] You must report to a supervisor within two working days after this order is made, and thereafter when required by the supervisor and in the manner directed by the supervisor. [ 27 ] You will remain within the Province of British Columbia unless written permission to go outside that jurisdiction is obtained from the court or your supervisor. [ 28 ] You must notify the court or your supervisor in advance of any change of name or address, and promptly notify the court or supervisor of any change of employment or occupation. [ 29 ] You will report to a supervisor in person by no later than 4:00 p.m., February 12, 2015, in person, at 100, 233 West 1st Street, and report thereafter as and when directed. [ 30 ] For the first six months of your conditional sentence, you will be bound by a house arrest curfew.

You may be outside your residence for reporting to your supervisor, as your supervisor requires, or attending to any medical emergencies for yourself or anyone with whom you reside. [ 31 ] Your supervisor may give you written permission to be outside your residence for the purpose of attending directly to any employment, working, and returning home immediately thereafter; performing your community work service; three hours, for periods of time up to three hours, twice per week, for performing personal errands; attending to any educational programming or other programs or activities approved of in advance by your supervisor; and for one hour each day for exercise. [ 32 ] During the last three months of your period of conditional sentence, you will be bound by a curfew of 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., seven days a week.

During those curfew hours, you may be outside your residence for any medical emergencies for yourself or any person with whom you reside; going directly to any place of employment, working, and returning home immediately thereafter; performing your community work service; attending to any educational program, or other programs or activities approved of in advance by your supervisor. [ 33 ] You will perform 50 hours of community work service under the direction of and to the satisfaction of your supervisor or community work service officer, and complete same, and I am just going to say within the first six months, Mr.

Whysall. [ 34 ] MR. WHYSALL: Yes. [ 35 ] THE COURT: Yes, and complete same within the first six months of your period of conditional sentence. [ 36 ] You will abstain absolutely from the possession or consumption of alcohol or any drugs or substances scheduled in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act , save and except according to a medical prescription and then only according to the dosage prescribed.

[ 37 ] Ms. Beckett, I think you understand that, as you are serving a jail sentence in the community, it is inappropriate that you be consuming substances recreationally. [ 38 ] DNA? It appears to be a secondary designated offence, according to the information. [ 39 ] MR. MACFARLANE: I'm sorry, Your Honour, I failed to turn my mind to that provision of the Code . Just give me a moment. [ 40 ] THE COURT: And it would also appear there is a -- is it a $200 victim fine surcharge on this one? Was it increased by December 2013?

I think it was. [ 41 ] THE CLERK: Yes, it was, Your Honour. [ 42 ] THE COURT: I am sorry, Madam Clerk, the victim impact statement should be entered, as well as the letters, 53, Exhibit 5. EXHIBIT 5: Victim Impact Statement and Letters of Reference [ 43 ] THE CLERK: Yes. [ 44 ] MR. MACFARLANE: Yes, it's a secondary designated offence, as you can -- as you can see, and I'm going to ask Your Honour to impose that, make that order. [ 45 ] THE COURT: Mr. Whysall? [ 46 ] MR.

WHYSALL: Well, I note that Judge Harrison made the DNA order in Peragine , so I -- [ 47 ] THE COURT: Sorry, you note that he did make the order? [ 48 ] MR. WHYSALL: He did make the DNA order, so I think that it would be appropriate, and I can explain that to my client and -- [ 49 ] THE COURT: Yes, all right. Well, I will just briefly explain, Ms. Beckett, that under the law now, except in very unusual circumstances, all offenders convicted of certain kinds of offences have to provide a sample of their DNA to the data bank in Ottawa.

It is for very restricted purposes and really only to identify perpetrators of crime. I do not think it will ever be an issue for you in the future, and it can only be used for that purpose and no other. [ 50 ] So I will order that you provide a sample of your DNA to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on any Tuesday or Wednesday between 1:30 and 3:30, and that you do so by no later than Wednesday, March 4, 2015. [ 51 ] Just so you know, the taking of it is very simple. It is simply usually a scrape to the inside of your mouth. [ 52 ] MR.

WHYSALL: And with the surcharge, are we allowed to ask for a month's time to pay that? [ 53 ] THE COURT: Statutorily she has two months. [ 54 ] MR. WHYSALL: She has two months, okay. [ 55 ] THE COURT: Yes, so that is sufficient time? [ 56 ] MR. WHYSALL: Yes. [ 57 ] THE COURT: Yes. (REASONS CONCLUDED)