A truck driver has been prohibited from driving for five years after he was found guilty earlier this month of driving without due care and attention in the deaths of two Prince George residents.
Robert Vernon Johnson, now 79, was behind the wheel of a commercial tractor-trailer that struck and killed Patricia Sims-McLelan, 50, and David Sakawsky, 49, on Oct. 9, 2014.
The two were crossing Nicholson Street just before 7 a.m. when they were hit by the vehicle making a left-hand turn from 22nd Street near College of New Caledonia. Both died at the scene.
Following a trial over three days in Prince George provincial court, judge Michael Gray found Johnson cut the corner as he drove onto Nicholson and had failed to drive according to the standards of a professional driver.
He also found that the poor conditions - rain, darkness, obstructed sightlines and poor lighting - were no excuse but rather a reason to be more cautious than on a "clear day on an open road."
Gray also noted an indication Sims-McLelan was tall enough to have been seen over the hood of Johnson's truck and was waving and shouting as the truck beared down on her.
Johnson, who represented himself during a three-day trial, was also fined $2,000.
Johnson was convicted of a Motor Vehicle Act offence. To be convicted of an offence under the Criminal Code, the Crown must prove beyond reasonable doubt a degree of recklessness or intentional harm.
A civil action launched by Sims-McLelan's husband on behalf of her son and daughter remains before the courts. The City of Prince George and BC Hydro are also named as defendants with the plaintiff alleging they failed to properly monitor and maintain the street lights in that area.
Johnson's employer, Vancouver-based Direct General Partners, is also named as a defendant for allegedly allowing Johnson to drive while incompetent to do so.
In responses subsequently filed, the defendants deny the allegations, which have not been proven in court.
It was one of three motor vehicle incidents that led to the deaths of pedestrians in 2014.
In October 2016, Nadia Pierrette Marie Brownson was fined $1,600 after pleading guilty to excessive speeding relative to conditions under the Motor Vehicle Act in the death of Scotty Bryan, 36, of Vanderhoof on Oct. 5, 2014 as he and a friend were crossing an unlit section of First Avenue to reach the Alibi's night club.
And in January, Shaun Raymond Bockus was sentenced to 18 months probation and fined $1,700 after pleading guilty to guilty to driving without due care and attention under the Motor Vehicle Act in the Dec. 16, 2014 death of Evagelia Litsa Kokkonis, 79, on Winnipeg at 10th.
Full copies of the reasons for judgment and reasons for sentencing are posted with this story at pgcitizen.ca.
