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A repeat drunk driver who injured a Kamloops woman and her 12-year-old daughter when he crashed into their vehicle on the Trans-Canada Highway in Valleyview last fall has avoided jail.
Glenn Derrick Gottfriedson, 58, pleaded guilty in Kamloops provincial court on Thursday to one count of impaired driving causing bodily harm.
Court heard Gottfriedson was drunk on Oct. 15, 2022, when he slammed his Ford Escape into a Toyota Rav-4 at the intersection of Vicars Road and the Trans-Canada Highway.
The collision took place at about 5:30 p.m. The Toyota was stopped at a red light headed west on the highway toward downtown when it was struck.
Crown prosecutor Anthony Varesi said Gottfriedson was driving at a high rate of speed when he crashed into the vehicle. The impact pushed the Toyota through the intersection and nearly into the path of a passing train.
Varesi said the woman driving the Toyota suffered a mild head injury and her daughter was left with leg injuries.
“It’s fortunate their injuries were not more severe,” he added. “It’s extremely fortunate the vehicle did not come to a rest on the train tracks.”
Gottfriedson’s blood-alcohol level was 0.14 — nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08.
He has a dated history of drunk driving, with two convictions from the 1990s. He has also received two roadside prohibitions, most recently in 2019.
Varesi asked Kamloops provincial court Judge Marianne Armstrong to jail Gottfriedson for four months.
Defence lawyer Dan McNamee, meanwhile, suggested a sentence of house arrest.
McNamee said Gottfriedson was dealing with a personal issue the day before the crash and went on a bit of a bender. He said Gottfriedson lost his job with the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc band as a direct result of the collision.
Kamloops provincial court Judge Marianne Armstrong sided with McNamee, sentencing Gottfriedson to a six-month conditional sentence order, the first four months of which will be served under house arrest.
He was also ordered to apologize to the victims and to attend counselling as directed by his probation officer.
