232601
228477
Penticton  

No jail for Keremeos woman after intoxicated car crash injured two people

No jail for drunken crash

A Keremeos woman who was driving while impaired and caused injuries to others in her car has been handed an 18-month conditional sentence.

On Friday in Penticton Supreme Court, Justice Janet Winteringham agreed to a joint submission presented by Crown and defence.

Brendalynn Hubick, 23, had previously pleaded guilty to the impaired driving causing bodily harm charge and impaired driving in connection with the incident on July 2, 2018.

Hubick had been with four other young people on the day of the incident out on a road trip. They had been drinking heavily and other motorists had called the police to complain about a white Chevrolet Sonic driving erratically.

When the RCMP officer attended the scene, the car was stopped, and some occupants were outside.

The police officer was alone and as he was dealing with the two intoxicated males who were being combative, and who tried to flee the scene and resist arrest, he observed the car depart the scene.

When it left it appeared that the two females were the only occupants of the Chevrolet Sonic.

The constable then began in pursuit of the vehicle which had driven away from him.

Not long after he got underway, the constable was advised of a collision that occurred a short distance further on Highway 3 in the direction he was heading.

The constable found the same white Chevrolet Sonic on its side, off the roadway in a ditch.

Hubick was found sitting on the ground in the middle of a driveway on the phone saying that she had been in a crash.

The other female passenger was observed bleeding from the face. Hubick was determined to have been driving the car at the time.

Based on the constable's conversation with Hubick, he said to have suspected that she may be under the influence and ordered her to give a sample of her breath.

She agreed to head to the RCMP precinct, after being looked at by BC Ambulance Service.

Hubick was a novice driver at the time and was forbidden to have any alcohol in her system.

At the precinct, Hubick was administered a breathalyzer. Her blood alcohol concentration was more than twice the legal limit for operating a vehicle.

Defence counsel said that Hubick had rectified relationships with her family since the incident and wanted to put this behind her, promising to attend counselling.

Judge Winteringham agreed to a joint submission of an 18 month conditional sentence, with one year of house arrest, abstaining from drugs and alcohol, attending counselling and a one-year driving prohibition.

“Miss Hubick is a young person, she is only 23 years old and has a long road ahead of her,” Winteringham said.

“I appreciate that the range of sentences for drinking and driving offences are vast. I also accept that for drinking and driving offences resulting in bodily harm a jail sentence is typically required. Here counsel is proposing a strict conditional sentence order with house arrest-type conditions for 12 months and a curfew for the balance of the remaining six months.”

Winteringham added that she believes the sentence proposed addresses the principles of deterrence and denunciation.

“Regarding rehabilitation, there is an abundance of evidence before me that Miss Hubick has taken steps to address some of her personal and mental health issues that are very much connected to the behaviour observed back on July 2, 2018.”

Winteringham concluded by wishing good luck to Hubick.



More Penticton News

233022