It's just plain broken!

As many of you already aware, my next younger brother Dave lost his life at the ungodly age of 56 in a motorcycle accident when a driver coming the opposite way decided to turn left right in front of him on Wed Aug 2nd, 2023. Fast forward to this past week, and the driver's case was finally put in front of the legal system, a full 14 months later, and only due to the fact that the guilty plea was submitted.

The driver was an 60 something year old lady, and although there has been much speculation on the minds of many close to our family as to why she made the decision, there equally as many anguished periods of bewildered contemplation in trying to understand why the gears of the legal system were grinding at such a frustratingly slow pace. Information surrounding the accident was kept close to the chests of the authorities for a painfully long stretch, and our family struggled with the snippets that did find their way to us, often prompting anguish and heartache.

At the beginning of October (I have forgotten the actual date), the Crown met with those in the family that could attend to discuss the ramifications surrounding a handful of delays and decisions that were having a profoundly disturbing effect on the proceedings. Despite the delay, my family was relieved to meet with the potential of learning information that came directly "from the horse's mouth", as it were ... or at least we thought.

The delay in legal action, it was explained, was due to the backlog of cases, and to the rights that the accused had to 'appropriate' representation, specifically her ESL needs requiring a translator. These two issues were creating a potentially horrific cascade of dominos that might allow her to walk away without meaningful repercussion. I am sure that anyone reading this can empathize with the emotional roller coaster we had just been loaded into. As it turned out, for the case to proceed to a legitimate trial, all of her rights had to met to make the mark in the court calendar, and (drumroll) if the case couldn't be scheduled within 18 months, the pending charges would be dropped.

Wait ... WHAT?

The only saving grace (odd term in this case) was if she were to plead guilty to a lesser charge, making an illegal left turn, a plea that would remove my brother's death from the case entirely, she would still face some form of punishment, even if it was simply a fine. Any sane individual in our family's situation would find that unpalatable and insulting, but there it was, staring us dead in the face, it's balled fist ready to strike. With the Crown and the attending officer choosing their words very carefully, they responded to the angered outcries of consternation coming from our side of the table, as it became obvious that Dave's demise was about to slip through the cracks in the legal system like so much melting ice.

All of this came to a head when our family was invited (another odd choice of word) to Zoom the court proceedings surrounding her plea. Imagine if you can, being the mother of a child who was robbed of a full life and the person responsible be allowed to pay a fine in traffic court, but that's what my mother had to deal with, and the flames of her pain were 'fanned' by the defence attorney's attempts to paint his client as the victim. Since our family was muted and unable to interact, there were questions that arose that begged to have answers, so following the conclusion of the trial, my mother reached out to the system for answers, but the responses only served to exacerbate the confusion.

The defence stated that my brother was going 77 kph just prior to the collision, but anyone who knew Dave in any way, shape, or form would know that he was a very conscientious and defensive cyclist.

The response received indicated that tire marks indicated a speed of 40 kph at the time of impact, while the accident recreation report cited it was likely that Dave was accelerating towards a speed of 77 kph. There was dash-cam footage of the collision showing the car cutting off Dave, leaving him little or no time to react, so does it even matter how fast he was going? The fact that the defence was allowed to insinuate that Dave was at fault in some manner was treacherous and deceitful.

The defence also stated that the accused required a full year to pay the $1000 maximum fine for her discretion, due to the fact that she existed on a monthly income of $800 per month.

Who can possibly live in the city of Barrie on $800 per month? It's obvious that she has either (a) hidden streams of income, or (b) someone assisting her. 

What remains is an unpalatable gross negligence that the Canadian legal system equates my brother's life to $1000.00, and the pain, anguish, suffering, and financial implications of his family's life without him in it the carnage of what we Canadians are forced to accept in today's world. Compounding all of the decrepit details was the revelation that she would no longer be allowed to drive ... unless it was an emergency. 

Seriously? Who gets to define what amounts to an emergency? Her? Her family?

Our legal system is just plain broken folks, FULL STOP!

I love you Dave, always have, always will.

God rest your soul as you family struggles with how Canada has decided what your life was worth. Our clan will continue to support Dave's immediate family as they deal with the continuing injustice that has befallen them.