Friends and family of a man killed in a head-on collision with a drunk driver near Fraser Lake nearly 2 1/2 years ago called for tougher sentences Tuesday after Christopher Clayton Scott McGuiney was sentenced to four years in jail for the crime.
In issuing the term, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ron Tindale accepted in full Crown counsel's position - defence counsel had argued for two years - but the mother of Duane Francis Pearson said it was still not enough.
"My comment is that I wish it would've been even more than four years," said Grace Pearson during an interview outside the Prince George courthouse. "But that is better than the two."
Pearson's brother, Darren, had a similar view.
"Through the courts here, the sentencing doesn't reflect the seriousness, I don't think, of the crime that was committed," he said. "Some of the laws need to be changed to make a mandatory sentence that is longer than four years, I believe."
McGuiney, 31, is also prohibited from driving for 10 years upon completion of his sentence.
In reaching his decision, Tindale emphasized McGuiney's criminal record, which included convictions for driving with a blood-alcohol level over .08 and driving while impaired and a number of other alcohol-related driving suspensions. In 2007, he was issued a five-year driving ban.
Added to that, McGuiney told his probation officer he does not belief he needs to take counselling for alcohol abuse and commited an alcohol-related breach of his bail, Tindale noted.
It appears McGuiney "does not understand the serious problem he has with alcohol," Tindale said.
Summarizing the events from the night in question, McGuiney had been drinking at a friend's home in Fraser Lake from early in the afternoon to about 8:20 p.m. when he and two others decided to drive to a pub in Fort Fraser.
McGuiney was behind the wheel of a large pickup truck when just six minutes after leaving the home, he lost control and veered into the oncoming lane, striking Pearson's SUV.
Pearson, who had been driving to work at a Fraser Lake sawmill where both he and McGuiney were employed, died at the scene while one of the passengers in the pickup was also injured.
The collision occurred about 70 metres west of the intersection of Highway 16, which was in a slippery condition, and Orange Valley Road, about 8.4 kilometres east of Fraser Lake.
At the time, McGuiney was in a "toxic" relationship with Nicole Larson, the passenger who was injured in the crash and had yielded to her suggestion to drive, Tindale noted.
In February, McGuiney pleaded guilty to one count of drunk driving causing death. It was agreed that his blood-alcohol level was between .192 and .204.
Pearson, who was 46 years old, left behind a wife and three daughters. During a sentencing hearing last month 20 victim impact statements from friends and family were read out in court.
"It is clear from those statements that the loss of Mr. Pearson has had a profound and lasting effect on his family and friends," Tindale said.
If McGuiney had been given tougher penalties for his previous offences, Pearson might still be alive today, longtime friend Daniel O'Leary suggested on Tuesday.
"I think it's an indictment on the criminal justice system that he wasn't attended to earlier," O'Leary said. "The reason that Duane died, in part, was because the court continued to look the other way."
The outcome left Pearson's wife, Sharolise, with mixed emotions
"I just find it hard to celebrate because it's only a four-year sentence and the recent pain that we suffered is going to be a lifetime," she said.
