Woman who ran over toddler appeals five-year driving ban

A woman who drove over a toddler in a Prince George parking lot is asking a judge to reduce her five-year driving prohibition.

On behalf of Barbara Joan Husband, 85, lawyer Dave Jenkins Sr. argued during a hearing Thursday at the courthouse that the term is "demonstrably unfit" and that a six-month prohibition is more appropriate.

Husband was issued the prohibition in February after she was found guilty of driving without due care and attention under the Motor Vehicle Act from a Dec. 19, 2018 incident.

During a trial on the matter, the court heard that Husband, who lived 17 kilometres out of town, was taking her kittens to the Ospika Animal Hospital, located in a strip mall at 2380 Ospika Blvd. S.

Heading south along Ospika, she reached a break in the median adjacent to Enemark Crescent and turned left to get into the parking lot.

But instead of turning directly into the first entrance, she drove a further 50-60 feet diagonally as she crossed two northbound lanes to reach a third entrance that is closer to the office's front door. As she did, the driver of an oncoming vehicle and of the one behind had to "brake hard" to let Husband through.

Once in the parking lot, Husband pulled her SUV into a stall 6-8 feet away from where a woman was packing her baby son into her car and, in the process, ran over the woman's 3 1/2-year-old daughter. The left front wheel of Husband's vehicle went entirely over the girl's pelvic region, but she escaped without a fracture although she felt still some discomfort and psychological trauma at the time of the trial.

Jenkins argued the sentence issued was not proportionate to the gravity of the offence and that Mengering erred in not giving enough weight to mitigating factors, including Husband's spotless driving record up to that time, and Husband's remorse.

Citing sentences for other cases, Jenkins contended such a five-year prohibition is reserved for instances in which the driver is found guilty of a criminal charge and had a record of bad driving. In one that resulted in a death, the driver was given a six-month prohibition, he noted.

In response, Crown counsel Marie Louise Ahrens said the cases Jenkins raised involved drivers who had a momentary lapse of attention whereas Husband's actions amounted to a "cumulative litany of driving errors."

Mengering found the gravity of Husband's behaviour to be at the high end of the spectrum for the offence, bordering on dangerous driving under the Criminal Code, Ahrens noted.

She said Husband was being sentenced for the manner of her driving not the consequences and that the judge found Husband "demonstrated a complete lack of attention to the road."

On Husband's remorse, Jenkins noted his client told the court there had not been a day that went by when she thought about what occurred and wished it had never happened. Ahrens replied that "we have a problem of semantics."

While no one is saying that she was not sorry the girl was hurt, Ahrens said Husband nonetheless testified that she did not believe she ran over the girl and noted Husband's "bizarre" response at the scene when she presented the girl with one of the kittens to calm her down.

Ahrens said Husband was not aware there was a problem until the mother pounded on the window of her vehicle and the two offered differing accounts of when the girl started screaming.

While Husband maintained it began only when the fire department arrived, Mengering agreed with the mother's version that it started as soon as her daughter was run over.

"Ms. Husband exited the vehicle. She said 'she's OK,' not 'will she be OK,' and then reached into her vehicle and pulled out a kitten to distract the child, I suppose," Ahrens said. "She (Mengering) found that this happened when the child was screaming uncontrollably on the ground."

It was not the first time Husband had driven along the northbound side to reach the parking lot, according to Ahrens. Driving 50-60 feet against oncoming traffic on a divided highway was "an accustomed route taken by the appellant on previous occasions, not withstanding the rules of the road."

Given his client's age, Jenkins said a five-year prohibition effectively means Husband will be banned from driving for the rest of her life.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Power reserved her decision to a later date. In doing so, she told Jenkins she is not sure she is persuaded by his arguments but will take the time to give them further consideration.