A Prince George man may have pleaded guilty to fleeing the scene of an accident but attended to the victim before emergency personnel arrived, the court heard during a sentencing hearing Thursday.
Brandon Joseph Pool held a level I first aid ticket and when firefighters arrived at scene on Rainbow Drive near Liard Drive during the early morning of Dec. 20, 2016, they found him stabilizing the neck of the person he had struck while behind the wheel of an SUV.
When firefighters took over, a traumatize Poole, now 33, wandered over to nearby Rainbow Park but from there made the decision to sneak away. Poole, who had been drinking and was driving without a licence, was arrested about three hours later after his girlfriend, who was also in the SUV, gave police his home address.
It was a point defence counsel Connor Carleton emphasized during the hearing held before Prince George provincial court judge Cassandra Malfair. While conceding the consequences for the victim, a then 14-year-old girl, have been "significant" and "awful," the act of leaving the scene is the issue at hand, Carleton stressed.
According to a victim impact statement presented to the court, the girl, now 16, suffered a skull fracture and internal bleeding that forced emergency surgery and being flown to Edmonton for recovery.
The brain injury she suffered has had lasting consequences - she's become impulsive, goes through bouts of high anxiety and severe rage, has turned to hard drugs and has tried to take her own life. Unable to get the help she needs, she has been admitted to the psychiatric ward at University Hospital of Northern B.C. a handful of times as a stopgap measure.
With her parents looking on, Poole repeatedly said he was sorry when given a chance to speak.
Crown prosecution is seeking nine to 12 months in jail less time served prior to sentencing plus a further 60 days for two counts of breaching bail while Carleton argued for three to four months for fleeing the scene plus 30 days for the breaches.
Malfair will render a decision at a later date.
